Ravage Game
by Wynter Wyllow Wolfe
Summary: Gideon is a proud member of TEAM Three of the ghost walkers but what happens when he meets his pair partner. How will he survive? Zinnia Zahara has been kidnapped, experimented on and tortured. Now she must trust a man she barely knows with something she loves more than her own life.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own any character but Zinnia Zahara. The rest belong to Christine Feehan and her Ghost walker series!**

 **Prologue**

Gideon Carpenter and Brian Hutton sat quietly sipping on their beers in a small bar in the heart of San Francisco. The two men were seeking refuge from the their home. Needing a breather from all the 'domestication' that was happening. Mack and Jaimie were happily married and Kane and Rose has followed suit. And with Rhianna home, it was only a matter of time before she and Javier tied the knot. For Brian, it was too much to swallow as he thought of Patsy Calhoun.

He had missed her and it was near impossible for him to reach her. Especially after her brother Jesse raked him across the coals for not spilling his guts to him from the very moment they met. As punishment, Jesse was being an ass. As for Gideon, it was nice to escape reality of his life. Gideon was the quiet member of their family. Always hiding up in the rafters, eye to his scope, content with watching over his family. Being part of the family day to day life was hard for him and they knew it. Never once did the question when he disappeared on them, needing a breather from the chaos of it all.

That being said, whenever he was around his family, he could joke and be playful like the rest of them. And on missions, he never failed them and he never would. They meant the world to him and he would gladly die for all of them. As for tonight, he needed the break and Brian was more than happy to watch his back. With Whitney being an ever looming monster in their lives, no one went out alone.

"Never picked you for a karaoke bar, Eagle," Brian teased.

"It's mildly entertaining," Gideon smirked as he tipped his beer to the drunken frat boys who were in the process of celebrating their buddie's last night as a single man. "What's your bet he's gonna be in hell tomorrow?"

Brian looked over at the groom-to-be and laughed. "He looks like a lightweight, betting he'll be puking his guts out mere seconds before having to be down the aisle," Brian joked before looking back at Gideon, his eyes darkened a little.

"Thinking about Patsy?"

"Get out of my head, Gideon," Brian said softly.

"Not in there. It's screaming across your face," Gideon replied as he did another scan of the bar area. They wouldn't stay long but just enough to get a break from the family.

Brian gave a wry laugh before grabbing his empty mug and indicated to Gideon's. "Want another?"

Gideon nodded and handed it over to his brother and proceed to track him from their table and to the bar. He watched as Brian politely flirted with the bartender who was filling their drinks. He knew Brian couldn't help it. He was a ladies' man. Gideon, however, was a pretty face, like most of his brothers but his silence tended to make women uncomfortable around him. Most of them falling back on the 'beware the quiet ones' saying.

Gideon watched as he Brian paid for their drinks and started to make his way towards their table but was bumped by one of the overly intoxicated frat boys and it seemed he was itching for a fight.

"HEY! Watch where your….walking….asshole!" the kid forced out as he got in Brian's face. His buddies coming to his support, egging him to take Brian out.

Brian looked over at Gideon, unsure of whether or not he should laugh at the kid or just knock him out. "You bumped me buddy but you're too drunk. Why don't you and your girlfriends here, head on home and sleep it off," Brian said as he tried to wipe some of the beer off of him. _Great! Now I smell like a damn brewery_. He thought to Gideon.

"Fuck you, asshole! Let's take this outside so I can knock your fucking lights out!" the kid said as he wavered a bit on his fit.

"You got him, Brayden! Kick his ass!" the drunk kids bachelor friend said as he whipped out his phone to video the fight.

 _Oh have mercy! Gideon, come save me before I send these boys back to their mamas in body bags._ Brian thought to his friend even as Gideon came beside him. "I'm thinking we should just get out of here. Don't need to deal with his bullshit," Brian said as he turned to walk out the door.

"Yeah, no fun to drink when the toddler's are out throwing their tantrums," Gideon agreed, taking a stab at the young men who had ruined their small moment of peace.

As the two super soldiers turned to leave, they felt the impending punch that was making their way towards Gideon's face. But the blow never connected. Brayden's fist was stopped in mid-air as a young woman held him by the wrist. Her dark brown hair was pulled into a tight pony tail and her light emerald eyes glared darkly at the man who's wrist she held. She was dressed in business slacks and a nice jacket. Hardly any makeup graced her face, giving her a natural beauty that Gideon had never seen before.

"What the hell lady?!" Brayden said as he tried to take his arm back from her.

"I think you and your buddies have annoyed enough of the people here. I HIGHLY suggest that you all leave the property immediately. Or if you want, you can leave in brand new shiny bracelets as the police arrest you for disorderly conduct and public intoxication," she said, her voice like heat, sliding down to Gideon's most inner core, calling to him.

"Shit man, I can't go to jail. If I miss our wedding, Jaz will murder me," his one buddy said as he was in the process of gathering his things.

Brayden looked deep into the woman's eyes for a good hard minute before backing away and grabbing his coat. "This place sucks anyway, I know a great place to unwind," he said as the group left very quickly and the bar returned to more peaceful atmosphere.

The woman turned towards Gideon and Brian and gave them each a hard look. "Are you two going to cause problems as well?" she asked in a serious voice.

"No ma'am, we're on our way out," Brian said as he put his hands up in a defensive position. "Come on Gid, let's get home."

Gideon never once took his eyes off of her. Every word she spoke set a fire deep inside of him, a feeling he never truly felt before. She was shorter than he was but had a lean build to her and she knew how to carry herself. "You go on ahead. I think I'll stay for one more round," Gideon said as he extended his hand to her. "Gideon Carpenter. This is my brother Brian Hutton."

"You sure?" Brian asked. Even as he knew that his brother didn't need a wingman for this event, he still felt uneasy leaving him alone. That and Mack will kill him for leaving him alone but maybe Gideon getting laid might make him a little more sociable at home.

"Zinnia Zahara, but everyone just calls me Z," Zinnia said as she looked down at Gideon's hand, unsure if she really wanted to touch it before grasping his hand. The moment the two made contact, an instant electricity soared through them cause the two to quickly separate.

"Gideon?" Brian asked as he watched the two of them.

"Yeah. Go on ahead. I'll be back home soon," Gideon said, his eyes never once leaving hers. Zinnia was studying him, curious of him and she seemed to be as intrigued as he was.

"Yeah, ok, man. Just be careful," Brian said as he looked back over at Zinnia and gave her a hard look. He wasn't getting any readings from her. Nothing that would indicate that she was enhanced or a danger to Gideon. Nodding softly, certain that Gideon would be ok, he gently gave her a small wave. "Have a good night, ma'am."

Zinnia's gaze flickered to Brian and nodded, giving him a soft smile. "You too," she said as she watched him look between to the two of them before turning to leave the bar. Gideon held out a bar stool for her and took a seat at the bar. Getting comfortable as he watched her take the seat next to him. "Coke, please."

"So Zinnia, tell me about yourself," Gideon asked as their drinks were placed in front of them.

…..

The next morning, Gideon woke alone in a strange bed that wasn't his own. Gazing around the room, he realized he was in a cheap motel. Rubbing his face, he tried to remember the events of the night before. He hadn't drunk that much but he knew that his head was a little hazy. However, he wouldn't forget her. _Zinnia_. He thought as he remember the dark hair, emerald eyed woman that had sauntered into this bed with him and gave him a night he would not forget. But with all one night stands, someone always has to disappear and quickly. It seemed that Zinnia was the one to take on that role.

Looking over to the nightstand, he could see that his phone was flashing and that he had a lot of missed calls, voice messages, and text messages. All of them came from his family. _Shit! I never made it home. Mack's going to kill me. Brian too for that matter. Hell, Jaimie is probably going to be the scarier one to face._ He thought as he dialed home.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!" Mack's voice shouted. Gideon didn't even need to put the phone to his ear as he heard Mack shouting.

"Easy there, it's too early to be screaming. I'll be home soon. I'm perfectly fine," Gideon said as he stretched his naked body, looking over at the bed where he and Zinna had made good use of. "And dad, go easy on me, ok?"

"HUH! You'll be lucky if I do. Jaimie might not be so forgiving," he said as Jaimie started to yell at Gideon. "See! You're in for it. What the hell happened last night? You didn't come home with Brian."

"I met a girl."


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

 _Eight Months Later…_

Gideon woke to the sound of pounding on his door. He had been up all night on security duty so what little shut eye he got didn't boost his mood. The pounding was getting louder and louder, irritating him further. "Gideon! Get the hell up! You're late for the briefing," Brian shouted against door. Gideon got up from his bed and slammed the door open, giving Brian his best glare. "Oh damn! Puts some clothes on, man! I don't need to see that!"

Gideon just crossed his arms and glared at Brian. He quickly glanced over at the clock then back to his rude awakening. "I've only had 2 hours of sleep. What the hell is so important that you need to drag me out of bed?" he growled softly.

"Wow, grumpy. Mack is calling all of us. He says it's important and the look on his face confirmed it. I think something has happened," Brian said softly.

With a sign, Gideon nodded. "Give me five minutes and I'll meet you guys at the war room. And ask Jaimie to make me a cup of coffee. I don't need to be dozing off during this meeting," Gideon said as he closed the door and walked back into his room.

It was well known amongst his brothers and sisters that he was not a morning person. Rubbing his face, he quickly got dressed and made his way to their war room. Jaimie and Mack sat in front of the computer while the rest of the team sat close by. On the screen was Dr. Lily Miller, wife of Team One's leader, Ryland Miller. But what surprised Gideon was that every team and their wives were present on other screens. So it was clear that this was a ghostwalker meeting only. Something had happened.

Jaimie turned towards Gideon and walked over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek and a cup of coffee in his hand. "Morning. Sorry for the rude awakening but Lily wanted everyone to hear what she has to say," Jaimie explained. Gideon nodded as he placed a brotherly kiss on her forehead and walked over towards their family. Coffee in hand he took a seat next to Brian. Jaime returned to the computer and pressed a couple of buttons. "Alright Lily, we're all here. What's going on?"

Lily clear her throat and looked at her husband for support before turning towards the camera. "Good morning everyone. Sorry for the early awakening. As you all know, Flame, Jaimie and I have been trying to track Whitney's movements and get ahold of more secret files he has hidden. Trying to find the rest of the missing girls and get them to safety," she started watching as everyone nodded in acknowledgement. "Well, late last night Flame and I discovered that Whitney has suddenly shifted his attention from all of us. There's a missing girl that he has prioritized over all of us and I think he might have found her."

The computer dinged as an email came through and Jaimie quickly printed out copies for everyone. Gideon took his copy and looked down at the picture of small child. She couldn't have been older than four but her eyes held a darkness in them that he understood.

"Meet Zinnia," Lily started. Gideon flicked his eyes to the screen then back down to the papers in his hands. "She was in the same group as Saber and Azami. Do you two remember her?"

"Yeah. She kept to herself in the corner of the training room. Wouldn't play with any of us and she wouldn't let any of the guards near us. They were scared of her. Before the would come in the room, they would tranq her," Azami volunteered as she stroked a hand down the picture of the small girl.

"Yeah. She'd killed a few guards for trying to take me away for training. She knew what they were doing to me and the moment they called my name, she'd launch herself out of the corner, force us into it, and take out the guards," Saber said as she rubbed her arms at the memory. Her husband, Jesse Calhoun, held her tightly, seeing the tears come to her eyes. "She protected us. However, whenever her nurse or her doctor came for her, she complied. I vaguely remember her saying that they were nice people."

Lily ruffled some papers before pulling out two bios with a picture on each. "This them?" she asked. Azami and Saber examined the pictures and both nodded. "I thought so. Meet Dr Connor McKenzie-Zahara and his wife Breanna. Believe it or not, they are Zinnia's biological parents. Whitney realized they both had talents and when she was born, he took her and told them that she had died. Then assigned them to her, to 'help fill the void' as it says in his notes."

"That's just sick!" Rose said as she looked down at little Sebastian who was peacefully sleeping in her arms.

"Whitney had them executed. Apparently they had learned the truth about Zinnia being their real daughter and were going to take her an report him to the authorities," Lily said as she skimmed Whitney's notes.

"They signed their death warrants," Kane said as he looked at Lily. "Did Whitney pull the trigger himself?"

"Yes."

"So he's not afraid to dirty his own hands," Mack commented.

"Lily, am I reading this right? Her powers work at an atomic level?" Logan asked.

"Yes. It's what makes her so valuable to Whitney. She has complete control over anything that made up of atoms. Humans, animals, elements...the list is endless. She doesn't even need touch to whatever it is to manipulate it. She has over 50 confirmed kills in just the facility she was raised in. One man's heart was completely removed from his chest," Lily said.

"I remember that day," Azami said. "They attacked Saber and she went crazy. Jumped on the guard and placed her hand on his chest. He was down in seconds."

"Yes. Whitney's writing is overly enthusiastic about that incident. On day that he lost her, she destroyed the entire facility. It looks like not 12 hours prior he had all the girls minus Zinnia removed. It's unsure of what made her snap but she injured Whitney," Lily confirmed. This news got everyone's attention. Their eyes snapping to Lily's in disbelief. "She got ahold of his right arm and disintegrated his radius and ulna. He has titanium replacements in their right now."

"She actually touched him?" Brian asked.

"Yeah and then she brought the facility down. He barely escaped. She's been on the run since then. Well until about a week ago. Whitney found her," Flame said as she adjusted her cap. "And he gunning for her. Now, I've set up a network of chats for Whitney's girls to reach out and let us know they are safe. She reached out last night. She's aware that Whitney found her. And she knows she's in danger. I'm trying to get her to come into us so we can protect her. She declined."

"She seems to be able to take care of herself," Brian said as he looked up at Flame.

"She's pregnant," Flame informed. "She's eight months along."

"And that's why he's after her. Where is she?" Mack asked.

"San Francisco."

"So we're being sent?" Javier asked.

"You've got me as well," Saber suddenly said, surprising everyone else. "She'll need a sister to reassure her."

"And where Saber goes, I go," Jesse confirmed as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"We welcome the help," Mack said as he turned back to Lily. "We have a location or an updated photo of her?"

Lily's fingers danced across the keyboard and picture came up on the screen. "She's still going by Zinnia. Zinnia Zahara. And no known location," she said softly as everyone studied the young woman.

"Oh shit," Brian whispered before tapping a distracted Gideon. At some point during the briefing, he zoned out but now, he was awake and staring at the screen.

"Oh fuck," Gideon said drawing everyone's attention to him.

"Eagle? You know her?" Mack asked, suspicion filling his voice.

Zinnia Zahara, the woman he had the most amazing night with...eight months ago. "Top, I think that's my child in her," he confessed.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"What the hell are you talking about?" Mack shouted at Gideon, his infamous anger ringing clear.

Gideon just gave Mack a hard cold look. "Remember that night eight months ago when I was out all night with a girl. That was Zinnia. I had no clue then that she was a ghost walker. And obviously I haven't seen her since."

"What happened that night?" Lily asked, regaining everyone's attention.

"We met at a bar in the city. I was there with Brian for an evening out. Some dumbass frat boys tried to pick a fight with us but she stopped them. She convinced them to leave or risk going to jail. They left, Brian left, and she and I had a few drinks and talked. She was gone before I woke the next morning," Gideon explained. "And honestly, I haven't stopped thinking about her since."

Lily ruffled some papers before finding what she was looking for. "He paired you to her," she said as she double checked what she read. "Somehow he must have had some more of 'her' and he paired you with her. I don't know if she was paired back to you though. She may have escaped before he had the chance."

"Fuck…" Gideon swore as ran a hand threw his hair.

Flame tapped Lily's shoulder and pointed at her watch. "Oh, right. Ok, so she agreed to meet us online again today to try and figure out a plan. You guys will be able to hear the conversation but you won't be able to see her. She can still hear you though so try and restrain yourselves," Lily said as she turned to a different screen.

Zinnia hesitated as she sat in front of the computer. Contemplating actually reaching back out to Dr. Whitney's daughter and their little merry band of Ghostwalkers. She'd heard about them threw Whitney's files. The four military teams that had united against him but were unknowingly completing experiments and participating in the breeding program he had built. Whitney's disappointment was that he had been unsuccessful to get his hand on one of those babies. Then there was the anti-Whitney ring that was determined to destroy all of the Ghostwalkers. It was all an ugly mess.

Zinnia heaved a heavy sigh as she rubbed her rather large stomach. Her constant reminder of the one night she let her guard down. A night she had not forgotten but long for. Another night with Gideon. A night to tell him that he was going to be a father. She hadn't realized that he was a ghostwalker until she saw the tattoos in the early morning light. And she had been so angry with herself and unsure which side Gideon was on, that she made quick work out of the hotel.

 _Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Zinnia's alarm went off, telling her it was time to contact the ghostwalker team. Taking another moment to reconsider her decision, she turned the computer on and logged onto the secure chat that the women had set up. Already, Lily and Flame were waiting for her, big warm smiles greeted her.

"Why are you guys so happy?" Zinnia asked, a little annoyed that they seem bright and perky when she was exhausted. She had stayed up most of the night guarding her home, hoping that Whitney didn't decided to attack.

"We're just happy you came back. After the last conversation, we were sure you'd sign back on," Lily said as her eyes darted around Zinnia. "How are you feeling?"

Zinnia eyed her cautiously. She didn't want to give away too much. "We're fine. It's just really early where I am. Any word on Whitney's location?"

"No, but we're doing the best we can. I think he's aware that we know he's after you and has gone silent. Anything on your end?" Flame said softly, but irritated. "I fear we've entered into a race with him.

"And I guess I'm the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?" Zinnia asked a tad annoyed. "Caught sight of an enhanced one yesterday but managed to shake him. If I'm honest, I'm probably about 48 hours away from getting the hell out of dodge."

"The offer is still there, Zinnia. We can have a team come in and get you. You'll be safe and so will your baby. I promise you, he won't get either of you," Lily pleaded, her eyes begging.

Zinnia gave Lily a hard look. Her doctor had flagged her high blood pressure at the last couple of visits and she knew that she didn't have the strength to get into a combat situations. But at the same time, she'd be taking an unbelievable risk putting her trust into the ghostwalkers.

Zinnia's attention was brought back to the screen when Flame was waving her hand at her. "Sorry, I was deep in contemplative thought," she murmured.

"May I be blunt with you?" Flame asked even as she felt every eye turned to her in concern.

"I welcome it," Zinnia said, curious to see where Flame was going with that.

"Is your child's father's name Gideon Carpenter?" she asked as she felt both her husband and Lily clamp a hand on her.

Zinnia gave Flame and Lily a hard look. Her eyes going back to the darkness of the small child. "So you two have been sharing information about me," she said more as a statement. "So, he knows who I am?"

Lily decided to let Flame take the lead as she is the one who decided to no beat around the bush. "Nothing is kept from the women and men that are working hard against Whitney. When we realized what was going on and that you had contacted us, we informed them. To have a team ready to come to your aid if you'll let us. And yes, Gideon is a member of one of those teams. He saw your picture and said that he thinks the child is his. Is it?"

Zinnia watched them carefully, trying to figure out what would be the best course of action for them. Then it hit her. "He can hear me, can't he? They all can," she accused.

"Yes."

"I want to meet with him. I want to talk with him and I'll make my decision. How long would it take for him to get to back to San Francisco?"

"He's already there. His team is based there." Lily said, her voice full of hope.

Gideon pushed past Mack and Jaimie and got his hands on the keyboard and took it back to his seat. Jaimie hissed at him for touching her 'baby' but he just ignored her and furiously typed a message to Lily. Once the message was sent, a ding was heard by all as Lily pulled up a small window to read the message from Gideon. She touched Flame's shoulder so she could read the message to Zinnia.

"Seriously?! Ok Zinnia, you already know that he can hear you and he's decided to jump into our conversation very rudely," Flame said as she sent a glare to the TEAM Three screen.

Zinnia looked at the screen for a minute before chuckling. "Let me guess, he's flipping out?"

"That's putting it mildly. So no, Gideon, I'm not going to ask that of her. You being a jackass will not help anything. Give the keyboard back to Jaimie and sit there like a good boy," Flame said as Zinnia heard multiple chuckles both male and female.

Zinnia shook her head and smiled softly. "Alright Gideon. You clearly have a few things you wish to say to me. Meet me in an hour at the pier by Donovan's Grill. Just you alone. I don't care if your team is there but I want to talk privately with you. No prying ears. Do that and I'll make a decision," she offered, a slight fear growing within her at the thought of seeing him again.

Everyone turned to Gideon who looked dead at the monitor. His mind and heart racing at the thought of being so close to her again. As angry as he was that he hadn't known he was going to be a father for eight months, the thrill of being there for her now, seeing her, having her in his life was what he needed. He had felt lost after she left. Like going back to a hollow shell that was his life before. "See you in an hour," he said, not caring that he was told to be quiet.

"In an hour," she said before logging off.

Gideon sat back in his chair and placed his face in his palms. His mind racing. He hadn't expected all of this and now after all this time, he was going to keep her safe. Her and their child.

"Yeah...no way in hell you are going alone to this little visit," Mack said as he looked back at the screen. "Jess, Saber, we'll see you soon. We've got to go get ready for a date."

With that everyone wished them good luck and signed off. Gideon took this moment to move away from his family and retreat back into his room. Sadly, Brian had followed him in, not giving him the peace he needed.

"What the hell, Gideon?" he said softly.

"Yeah. Pretty much," he said as he took a seat on his bed.

"You know Mack is waiting for the chance to get you alone," Brian said as he took a seat on the nearby chair.

"Yeah. He's going to be delightful to deal with," Gideon groaned.

"But this seriously explains your behavior," Brian mused.

"Huh? What behavior?" Gideon asked.

"Seriously? You've been distant, almost like you're not there. I mean you've been getting your job done but that's about it," he explained but when Gideon gave him a questionable look, he proceeded. "Look it's not hard to see with all couples. Separation doesn't work well with them. Especially the guys. You've been missing her and you were only with her for a night."

Gideon gave Brian a hard look. He was right, Zinnia was on his mind every single day. He often dreamed about the night the two of them shared, both with an insatiable hunger for each other. And for Gideon, these last eight months had built that hunger right back up again. Brian had a fair point. When he wasn't on a mission, he kept to himself in his room, thinking about Zinnia. Her laugh. Her smiled. Her silky voice as they talked at the bar that night. He could remember every detail. Gideon rubbed a hand over his face. He was in trouble and so was Zinnia. "I need to get ready, Bri. I'll meet you out there in 10," he said and quickly booted his brother out the door.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Zinnia leaned gracefully against the rail of the pier, overlooking the water. This was a favorite spot of found peace, watching the waves coming and going. She would need that Zen with what was about to happen. She had noticed earlier that morning that her  
hands were shaking. The lack sleep, the pregnancy, and the stress of Whitney was causing a power overload. If she wasn't careful, she makes herself sick and then she'd be vulnerable.

Her senses picked up on the sudden power spike as she counted the number of enhanced soldiers taking up strategic positions around the pier. But what really caught her attention was when Gideon's scent washed over her. The wind had picked it up and carried it around her, causing a familiar ached to grow deep in her belly. He had arrived and so  
had his team.

"Zinnia," he said softly behind her. She turned to face him, not at all disappointed when she saw him. He looked every bit the same. He wore a navy-blue t-shirt the clung to every inch of his muscular chest and a pair of khaki cargo pants. The dark blue was a nice  
contrast to light blue in his eyes, making them stand out even more than they had the last time she saw him. His black hair was a little shorter this time. But Zinnia still remembered running her hands through the soft locks, hold onto them as Gideon brought her over the edge.

Gideon couldn't take his eyes off Zinnia, her long dark brown hair was wild in the wind, caressing her as it flew. Her emerald eyes showing the hunger that she had deep within her. Her mouth was parted as she stared at him, calling to him to claim them as his. His eyes drifted down to her stomach. Though she was lean with a small frame, her stomach was well swollen, evidence of his child growing safely and soundly within her, wanted by her, protected by her.

He slowly approached, the wind surrounding her, bringing her scent to him and nearly knocking to the floor. Her smell was so intoxicating, sending all his blood to pool in his groin, making him ache for her. He wanted her right now, but he had to mentally  
reprimand himself. This was a meeting to bring her home with them. To save her  
and their child.

Zinnia watched as he approached her, like an animal in heat. His blue eyes smoldering with lust, want, and even need. He wanted her and damn herself, she desperately wanted him too, but she knew she couldn't. What they had was a twisted cocktail courtesy of the man that Zinnia hated with every fiber of her being. When he stopped in front of her, she could tell that he was unsure of what to do. They wanted to bring her in. To keep her safe but at the same time they didn't want to scare her away. She smiled up at him, trying to reassure him. "Gideon," she said gently before extending her hand to him.

Gideon eyed her hand. She could tell he was unsure what to do. Well she figured she knew what he wanted to do at least. Gideon took her hand and just held it. Enjoying the electric feeling of the two of them touching. For Zinnia, it made her jump and cause her to pull her hand back. When Gideon gave her a concerned look, she smiled at him. "Sorry. Not used to that," she said as she walked over towards one of the outdoor tables. "Want to get something to eat while we talk?"

Gideon nodded. She knew that his team was watching them very closely, so sitting outside was her way of saying she wasn't going to try anything. He watched as she took a seat at the table, as best she could and took the menu from the waitress that was standing next to her. Gideon quickly sat down next to her, his back to the ocean, giving him a  
perfect view of the pier and restaurant.

"Can I get you two anything to drink today?" the waitress asked with a soft smile. She was eyeing Gideon up from the moment he sat down at the table.

"Can I get a glass of water?" Zinnia asked politely.

"Make it two," Gideon added as the waitress nodded and quickly walked way.

"So, do you want to eat first or go right ahead with the interrogation?" Zinnia asked as she looked over the menu. Gideon could sense the humor in her voice as she spoke and couldn't help the smile that came to face.

Can we say WHIPPED? Javier's voice came through as he skated down the pier.

Can anyone remember the last time Gideon actually smiled like that?! Damn! Kane threw in from his sniper spot.

I think it's sweet. Rihanna thought as she looked at a few boots from boutique next door to the restaurant.

Seriously...all of you. Shut up. Gideon thought before looking at Zinnia. "I'll let you make it through an appetizer first before I get started. Least I can do," he said but he his humor dropped when he saw her pinching her brow. "What's wrong?"

"Haven't slept for a couple days. I have a good headache," she said as the waitress approached with their water. When the waitress turned to her to take her order, she smiled up "I'll take the house salad with thousand island and the chicken piccata with mash potatoes."

"And for you sir?"

"I'll take the same," he said. He really wasn't interested in eating, at least not food. The waitress nodded and took their menus and walked away, leaving the two in silence.

"Should we start with the big question?" she asked.

"I have a few."

"I figured as much. Which one do you want me to answer first?" she asked as she spun her straw in her water, her other hand resting gently on her stomach, guarding their child.

"Why did you leave that morning?" he asked, while doing another sweep of their surroundings.

"I woke up need the bathroom. You were happily snoring away. When I came back from the bathroom, you had flipped over, and I saw you tattoo. I knew then that you were a ghostwalker and figured you worked for Whitney. So, I got dressed and left. I wasn't ever going back there. I thought he sent you to take me back," she explained, regret clear on her face. "I have trust issues."

Gideon snorted into his water. "I think all ghostwalkers have trust issues."

"When I found out I was two months pregnant, I started to do some digging. Looking into the kind of person you were. That's how I stumbled upon Lily and Flame's little chat room. Through there, I hacked my way into personnel files, reports...stories really. Lily should think about getting into novels. I know which of the girls you all have acquired and who married who. I know you all fight against Whitney but unknowingly participate in his experiments. And I learned what I could about you, which wasn't much. You keep a lot close to the vest, don't you?"

He's a quite bastard with us too. You should open up more. Javier commented.

Top, I'm going to kill him when I get home. Gideon thought to his family. "It's safer that way. I'm a little complicated. And according to the files, so are you. So you learned I wasn't working for Whitney, why didn't you come find me?" he asked as their appetizers were placed in front of them.

"Lack of GPS location," she shrugged as she dug into her salad.

HA! She'd fit in well with us. Rhianna thought, trying hard not to snicker out loud.

"You could hack Lily and Flame's files but not get my address?" he asked a little skeptical.

"Can't hack something that isn't there. All four teams locations are never mentioned," Zinnia explained.

Jaimie confirmed that Lily and Flame do not list any locations. Mack thought from the table in the corner.

"So why did you agree to meet with me now?" he asked as their meals arrived.

Zinnia stilled and waited for the waitress to walk away. "Tell the beefy guy in the corner, the woman looking at the black riding boots, the skater boy wannabe, the guy that has a scope aiming at me from the movie theater and Brian to walk out of hearing distance," she said as she made his whole team.

Well fuck! She made us all. Brian thought as he waved at Zinnia who just smiled and waved back at him.

Not happening, Gideon. We all have enhanced hearing that distance and she could kill you before we could get to you. Mack said.

I can kill him and all of you now before my food has a chance to cool. I have no intention of killing him. But dammit, a little personal privacy is not being unreasonable. Zinnia chimed in, shocking all of them.

Gideon stared at her. He had no idea that she was hearing everything they were saying. He looked deep into her eyes and nodded. "Alright everyone, back off for a minute," he said as he took his coms out.

Mack, Javier, and Rhianna stood next to Gideon and gave them both a hard look before catching up with Brian and Kane. Zinnia watched them carefully until she was certain they were far enough away and turned back to Gideon. "Well, you made my team walk away. Are you going to answer my question?" Gideon asked.

Zinnia rubbed her face. Unsure if she was ready to say what she had to. "Because you're they're father and they're going to need your help," she said softly.

Gideon's eyes softened. He could tell that it took a lot for her to ask for help and she needed it. He was their father and they needed him. They. Gideon thought. His eyes went wide. "What do you mean by 'they'?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"We're not having one baby, Gideon. We're having three," she said. "No one knows. Not Lily or Flame or anyone. It's why I wanted your team away. If Whitney knew we were having triplets, he would send an army after me and I wouldn't be able to fend them off."

Gideon could see tears in her eyes as she wrapped her arms protectively around their children. She was doing everything she could to keep them safe from that monster and it was clear that she needed him to help them get the rest of the way. Gideon stood up and moved so that he kneeled down in front of her, placing his hands on her stomach. "I promise you, I'll keep my family safe. No matter what," he swore and he meant it.

Zinnia smiled at him before forcing him to sit back in a chair. Gideon complied but never took his hand from her stomach. He wanted to keep connected to his children. Let them know that their father would not fail them. Zinnia placed her hand over his and for a moment, the two were content. But it was Zinnia you brought them back. "Gideon, I'm willing put my trust and the safety of our children in you. But can I trust your family? The other teams? It's clear they know about me and don't trust me," she said as looked up at him.

"You can trust them and they can get over themselves. We all have our own unique powers and we're all deadly. The way I see it, you're no different than we are. They're just overprotective because we've been family since we were kids. They just don't want to see me hurt," he explained, hoping he was right.

Zinnia pulled a little bit away. "Gideon, I'm not looking for a relationship. Whitney may have paired us with his little cocktail of bullshit and we may have unknowingly helped his breeding program but I'm not expecting a relationship out of this. I need your help for now and...I want the babies to have relationship with you. I didn't get a chance with my parents," she said softly.

"Let's take things one day at a time, Zinnia. For now, why don't you come and stay with us where we can protect you," he said softly.

Zinnia smiled at him before her head snapped to behind them. She quickly stood and walked away from Gideon, her eyes darting through all the people walking down the pier. Gideon quickly paid and came beside her. "What is it?"

"Did you bring anymore of your team with you then the ones I called out?" she asked as she locked eyes on a particularly large man.

"No."

"Well, three more enhanced men just showed up on the pier, and there is a lot of malevolence coming from them."


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Mack? Zinnia says we've got three enhanced soldiers coming towards us. Gideon called out to his family.

Instantly, the five of them made their way towards Gideon and Zinnia. You sure?

They pinged my radar. It's how I knew you were all here. Something about enhanced people messes with me. I can't explain it. Zinnia began. Skater boy, you're close to on. Big guy to your right. Wearing the cutoff.

Ok first, it's Javier, not skater boy. And I see Mr. Biker wannabe. Top, permission to do some killing?

Hold back for now. Zinnia, where are the other two?

You're no fun, Top.

Brian, wall street, 11 O'Clock.

I got him.

Hey Boss lady? Unsavory duche back at your six. Seriously, who has handlebar mustaches?

I'm with you there. Ever get the need to grab them and yank?

Wanna give it a shot?

Girls focus, please. Gideon said as he grabbed Zinnia by the arm and moved her closer to his body, already he was looking for the best escape route. Kane was the first to reach Gideon and Zinnia. Mack and Rhianna moved quick towards handlebars while Javier and Brian got to work on their assignments.

"Nice to meet you, Zinnia. I'm Kane. My wife is Rose. She's eager to meet you, what do you say you come on over to our place?" he said with a grin as he and Gideon started to usher her down the pier toward waiting cars. Zinnia barely heard Kane as she looked over at Gideon. His eyes were darting everywhere, like the sniper he was. When they got to the cars, Kane open the door for Zinnia to get in. "You head to our place with Gideon. We'll be right behind you."

Zinnia looked back at Gideon. "Don't you need to be with your family? You're their sniper."

"Those three assholes are the only ones enhanced. They'll be fine. But we need to get you out of here," he said as he got in the driver's side. "Kane, I'm gonna take the long way, make sure we don't have a tail."

"Got it. We'll be in touch," Kane said before looking back at Zinnia. "Looking forward to getting to know you, little sister."

With that Kane, closed the door and Gideon took off. He worked quickly away from the pier. He was silent, his eyes darting every which way. "Anything on your radar?" he asked her.

"Just your team. They're close behind us," she said as looked out the window.

Gideon could feel her distance and her hesitation and slowed the car down so he can focus on her. "What is it, Zinnia?"

"I'm putting your family at risk, aren't I?

"Not at all. The way they see it, Whitney is threatening my kids and that's a big no-no in our books. The only one putting my family at risk is Whitney. And you count as my family, Zinnia. You and our babies," he said as he rested a hand on her large stomach. He was going to need a crash course in being normal to make things work with her but he'd do anything for her.

"Can we stop at my place please?" she asked.

"I can get you whatever you need," he said, trying to convince her to head straight to their place.

"It's really important to me. Please Gideon," she said softly.

Heading to Zinnia's. She needs to grab some important stuff.

Can't we just get it later or replace it? Mack asked.

Says it's important, Top.

Alright, we're right behind you. Mack said as they drove close behind him.

"Where am I going?" Gideon asked her and maneuvered through the streets of San Francisco until he reached a small building.

"My apartment is on the first floor," she said as she got out of the car and up the stairs to the main door.

The rest of the team joined Gideon as they followed her into the building. All of them were on high alert as she entered the code into her home. Javier, Rhianna, Brian and Kane walked into the apartment first before allowing Zinnia in. Gideon moved to follow but Mack stopped him.

"Do you realize how close to home we are?" Mack asked.

"Yeah. I'll find out more from Zinnia later. Right now I want to get her out of sight and get her to rest. She's no sleeping," Gideon said.

"Yeah, I heard that. She looks exhausted," Mack said as they walked in. The men were greeted by a flurry of madness as everyone was going around the room collecting items. Javier had been in charge of Zinnia's computer system and he looked to be drooling.

"Top, this is sweeter than Jaimie's! I wanna tinker so badly right now," Javier said as he started to disconnect the system.

"You better not break it. I think some of those files on there might interest some of you," Zinnia said as she opened a hidden door leading to a small armory.

Both Kane and Brian let out a whistle as they admired the hardware that she had. "Please tell me we get to take these with us," Kane said as he picked up an assualt rifle. "This is gorgeous. Never seen this model before."

"I made them. Sometimes I get a power overload and I'd rather create something then destroy it. I'd rather you guys get your hands on them then Whitney," she said as she sorted through a file cabinet, pulling out the files she wanted. She had one file strictly on the babies and handed that directly to Gideon. "Here, there are plenty of ultrasounds in there for you to see them."

Gideon nodded but gave it back to her. "I'll see them when we are safe at home. How much more needs to be done?" he asked as Rhianna came out with a few full trash bags.

"Rhianna has mine and the babies' clothes, Skater boy's got my computer, and Kane and Brian are playing with the weapons. I just have a few more important items to get and I'll be good to go. I can remake the babies' furniture later," she commented as she pulled out an old stuff bear and a couple of photos. She placed all her items in a shoulder back that Gideon instantly took from her. When she was satisfied that she had everything that was important she kicked everyone out of her apartment. "I need to make everything disappear."

This caught all of their attention as they were curious to see what her powers could do. Taking a deep breath, Zinnia closed her eyes and raised her hands. And like something out of a sci-fi channel, everything simply started to disappear, reverting back to the atoms that made them up. It was like watching a gust of wind swirl a sand dune, carrying it away till nothing was left. The others were in awe as the ones homely apartment became barren as if no one had lived there for some time. When the last of the items in the room had vanished, Gideon turned to Zinnia. She had a trail of blood coming from her nose and was wavering a bit on her feet. Gideon instantly took her in his arms and steadied her, wiping the blood from her face.

"You're pushing yourself too much. Come on, let's get out of here," he said gently as he turned and saw the others still staring at the apartment. "Q&A session later, she needs to get some rest. Let's go."

The rest of them nodded and loaded the cars. Brian helped Zinnia into the backseat so she could lay down if she needed while he jumped in the front with Gideon. "You alright there, Zinnia?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said softly but both men could hear the fatigue in her voice. Gideon and Brian looked hard at each other. Both held concern looks in their eyes as the made it to the street of warehouses that they all owned. Gideon's residence was still in the building as Jaimie and Mack. He took the very top floor, that everyone affectionately called the Eagle's nest. Like a typical sniper, he liked being at the highest vantage point.

As they pulled behind their building, Gideon parked and went around to Zinnia who had fallen asleep. Waves of exhaustion were come off her and she softly slumbered. Cradling her head against his chest, he lifted her from the car and carried her into the warehouse. Mack must have called ahead that she was coming because everyone was there to see her.

"Oh my god, is she alright?" Jaimie asked, seeing her in Gideon's arms.

"She exhausted. She's just sleeping, Jaimie," he said as he started to make the climb to his home.

"Um, Gideon, we have a room set up for her and baby to stay in," she said as she indicated to the room just off to the side of the entrance.

Gideon looked at the room and shook his head. "Yeah, not happening. She's staying where I can keep an eye on her and the babies," he said as he disappeared up the stairs.

Jaimie looked at Mack and the other's as they started to bring in her things. "Babies?" she asked.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Gideon unlocked his door and walked quietly into his home. The room was fairly bare seeing as Gideon really didn't need much but he knew soon that it would turn into a proper home, for him and his very quickly growing family. He'd make sure of it. Walking towards his bed, he gently placed Zinnia down, covering her with the blanket. Her dark hair  
covering his pillow, giving her a wild look even as she slept. He gently ran a hand down her face, stroking the soft skin before placing his hand back on her stomach. He desperately wanted to feel his children move, to know that they trusted their father to protect their mother.

Gently, he pressed his lips to her stomach. "You kids be good for your mother while she sleeps. Understand? Your mother is exhausted and needs her rest," he said before feeling a hand touch his cheek drawing his attention to Zinnia, who was now awake. "Go back to sleep. You're safe in my home. I'm going to go help the others bring your  
things in."

Zinnia gave him a concerned look and tried to get out of his bed but he just gently pushed her back. "Rest Zinnia. We'll talk when I'm done," he coaxed as he tucked her back in. "I'll be right back. You are all safe."

Zinnia gave in and nodded. "Tell your brothers they can keep those weapons," she said with a small smile. "Considered it as a thank you present."

"I think it'll be you they'll be thanking," he said with a soft smile and before he knew what he was doing, he leaned down and placed his lips on hers. He hadn't thought whether this was a wise idea or not, he just couldn't stop himself and it seemed that neither could she. As the two kissed, she slipped her hand up his cheek, cupping him, holding him to her. Heat flowed deep within him as he felt his hard on grow harder than he ever imagined.

Tentatively, he slid his tongue over her bottom lip, almost begging to be let in. Without hesitation, she let him enter, her mouth velvet hot, her tongue stroking his, dancing with his. Instantly, he was transported back eight months to the night that started this all. The bar had called for last orders and the two decided to depart. As they walked out into the autumn air, Gideon couldn't stop himself from wrapping his arm around her to keep her warm. She had given him a grateful smile and as Gideon admired her in the dim lighting of the street lights, was so mesmerized by her beauty that he took a chance and kissed her.

Zinnia moaned softly as she felt the heat and passion of his kiss, though he was being gentle, it spoke volumes of how much he wanted her. Just like that night eight months ago. She felt her heated liquid pooling between her legs with the need she had for him. And had a loud pounding not have been heard on his door, she's pretty certain the two would be repeating their first night.

The two pulled away, panting, still looking deep into each other's eyes. "Dammit, Eagle! Get out here!" Kane swore, banging more on the door.

"My brother is annoying," he said before giving her another soft kiss and moving towards the door. "Keep going like that and you'll break my door," Gideon glared.

"Well if you'd step away from your woman for three seconds and help us with the heavy lifting, then maybe we'd leave your door intact," he said as he flipped Gideon off before walking away.

Gideon looked at Zinnia and shook his head. "Brothers," he said as he walked out of the room and down to the ground floor where his family had brought in Zinnia's things. Gideon started to grab a few bags of her things and started to make his way towards the stairs.

"Gideon, I think we should talk," Mack said as the rest of his family watched them.

Gideon stopped and slowly spun to face his brother. "What's there to talk about, Mack?" he asked, daring his brother.

Mack eyed Gideon before indicating he take a seat. "Stop getting your back up, Eagle. Let's just talk," he said as he took a seat next to Jaimie.

Gideon watched his family before dropping the bags he had and taking a seat. "What's this about, Mack?" he asked.

"Gideon, did you say children?" Jaimie asked suddenly.

Gideon looked at Jaimie and smiled. "Yeah. She didn't want anyone knowing where it could get back to Whitney. She's carrying triplets," he said, his voice coming off proud.

"Well damn, Gideon. When you do something, you do it right!" Javier said as gently stroked one of the bagged weapons.

Gideon rolled his eyes at Javier. "You better be nice. She's giving us those weapons as a thank you," he said and watched as Javier's eyes widened.

"Mack, leave Gideon alone. Zinnia is good in my book," Javier said as he picked up a bag of weapons and started to make his way to his room.

"Drop the bag, Javier. You don't get to keep them all," Mack said.

"Aw poor Javier, not allowed to play with the new shiny toys," Brian joked.

Javier sent a rude gesture to Brian but complied with Mack's request. Mack looked at Gideon and gave him a hard look. "Gideon, you know what I'm going to say," he started.

"Mack, I'm not going to let her go. She's my family. Her and my kids. She's trusting me to keep the kids safe from Whitney. If it was Rose or Jaimie or any of the other girls, we wouldn't be having this conversation," Gideon pointed out.

Mack gave Gideon a hard look. "She's dangerous, Gideon. You saw what she could do at her apartment. Who is to say that she wouldn't do that to us? To you?"

"Because that was never her nature. Zinnia is a protector and anything to do with Whitney is her enemy. We are not her enemy," Saber said as she stood at the door next to Rhianna and Jesse.

"By the way, Mack, you guys weren't exactly trusting of me when I came here with Sebastian, but you seem to have changed your opinions," Rose spoke up glaring at Mack.

"Last I checked, Mack, everyone here and the other three teams are all dangerous with their own dangerous abilities," Jaimie said, glaring at her husband.

"What the hell?! Why are you all ganging up on me?!" Mack said in protest, holding up his hands in defense.

"Because you're the one that is running his mouth trying to treat Zinnia like she needs to be locked in a cage," Jaimie said at her husband.

"I never said that, you're putting words in my mouth. I'm just concerned. Gideon is letting this pairing thing cloud his judgement. I just want to be sure," Mack said trying to talk his way out being in the dog house with his wife and sister.

Gideon stood up quickly from his seat, glaring at his brother and leader, he grabs the bags he originally had in his hand. And worked his way back towards the stairs. "Go to hell, Mack! Whitney's pairing shit has nothing to do with how I feel towards Zinnia," he said before turning towards Saber. "I'll let Zinnia know you're here. I'm sure she is eager to see you."

With that he sent another angered glare to Mack and started up the stairs. There he saw Zinnia standing at the top, looking down and listening to the conversation. Gideon moved closer to her, placing the bags on the floor, taking her into his arms. "I shouldn't have come here," she said softly.

"You are were you need to be. Don't listen to Mack. He's just being an ass," Gideon said as he held on tightly to her. He could sense her withdrawing, gearing up to leave. Over his dead body would he let that happen.

Jaimie came up the stairs with Rose and Saber. "Zinnia, please ignore my husband. He lacks a filter that reminds him not to be an ass. I'm working on fixing that but as you can tell, I've hit some resistance," Jaimie said as she walked over to Zinnia gave her a gentle  
hug, careful to not hurt the babies.

"Mack takes some warming up to, but the rest of us are thrilled to have you here!" Rose said as she placed Sebastian on her shoulders.

Zinnia looked past the two women and stared at Saber. "Winter?" she asked softly.

"I go by Saber now. Trying to put my past behind me," Saber said before running up to Zinnia and pulling her into a tight hug. "I owe you so much, Zinnia. Thank you for all you did for me."

Zinnia held Saber tightly. She couldn't believe that one of her sisters was standing right in front of her. She had witnessed so much of Whitney's torture to Saber. She wanted to save her. To protect her but she couldn't. "Please tell me you're alright. That he didn't hurt you further," she said softly, tears clinging to her eyes.

"Don't you dare cry, Zin. Cause if you do then I will and then my husband might have a heart attack," Saber joked as Jesse came up the stairs. Saber went to Jesse and dragged him over to Zinnia. "This is my husband, Jesse."

Zinnia extended a hand to Jesse, but he simply took her in his arms and held her tightly. "Thank you for looking out for Saber until I could take over. I heard what you did for her and I won't ever be able to repay you. I'm proud to call you my sister and I hope that you  
will see me as your brother," he proclaimed.

"Jess let her be. You're being all mushy on her," Saber said even as she wiped a tear away.

"All I ask is that you love you her, Jesse. That's thanks enough for me," Zinnia laughed as she hugged him back. This was a lot of contact for her in one day.

"Yes ma'am, working hard on that," Jesse said as he let Zinnia go and went to Saber. Even though he was married to Saber, paired with her. Gideon still gave him a dark look for how closely he was to Zinnia.

Jaimie walked over to Zinnia and took her hand. "I want to get to know you. Let the boys do all the heavy lifting and we'll sit here and have fun," Jaimie joked.

"And supervise! Cause men can't do anything without us!" Rose said as she took a seat next to Zinnia.

"Hey! I'm not completely helpless, Rose!" Kane said as he dragged up some computer equipment. "Zinnia, do you want this in Gideon's room, or where Jaimie keeps her beast?"

"Oh, um…" Zinnia said a little overwhelmed.

"Kane just put it with my computers. There's plenty of room and she'll have access to the servers," Jaimie said as she looked to Zinnia for the ok.

Zinnia nodded. "Yeah. Thanks. I'll get it setup and transfer what I found from Whitney to you guys," she said as Javier came up with a couple weapon bags. "Oh, Skater Boy, you guys can keep those."

"JAVIER! The name is Javier," he said as glared at her. "And Mack is making me share. So, I have to put them in the shared weapon room."

"I know your name is Javier, but I like Skater Boy better," she said as she winked at him.

"You're evil," he said as he started to walk away sulking.

"What if I make you your own weapon. Can I call you Skater Boy then?" she called to him.

Javier stopped in his tracks and turned back to her. "I might be amenable," he said before walking away.

Gideon shook his head and started to take things to their room but stopped when she heard Zinnia excuse herself.  
"Can you guys give me 10 minutes please?" she asked as she got up from the couch and took her shoulder bag from Gideon. The girls nodded, and Zinnia made her way up to Gideon's room.

There she took a seat on his bed and went digging. "What are you looking for? Gideon asked as he dropped a few clothing bags by the door.

"Blood pressure cuff," she said as she pulled out a few files and pictures.

Gideon sat down beside her and looked at the folder that she dedicated to their children. There, he saw the multiple ultrasounds of all three babies. Each had a letter associated for reference.  
"So how are these three squished in there?" he asked, raising a chuckle from Zinnia.

She stopped what she was doing and took his hand and placed it where her liver was. "Baby C has replaced my liver. Although I'm pretty sure my liver is buried under my lung really," she said as she moved his hand to the direct opposite and pressed his hand in a little. "That right there is Baby's B head. I had to remove a rib to make room."

Gideon couldn't believe that he could feel his child's head. A sense of awe and wonderment filled him before he came back to reality. "You removed a rib?"

"Yeah. B pushed it out of place a month ago and it hurt and annoyed me, so I got rid of it. It's only a floating rib and I'll put it back once they are born," she explained.

"Where's A at?" he asked. Zinnia smiled and slid his hand down her stomach towards her hips. "All the way down here. He or she will be the first to fly the coupe," she joked.

Gideon smiled at her before looking back at the ultrasounds. "Do you know what they are yet?" he asked.

"No, they didn't want to behave. And I didn't want to take any chances with a blood test. So we'll just to wait. But just so you know, A and B are identical. C is just along for the ride," she explained.

Gideon nodded as she went back to searching before successfully finding the blood pressure cuff. "What do you need that for?" he asked.

"There's a report in there from last week. Should explain what is going on," she said before putting the cuff on.

Gideon pulled at the report and read it very carefully. Patient is at risk for Preeclampsia. Patient must record hourly blood pressure measurements to ensure safety of all four patients. Gideon read. Hey Paul? Rose? What's preeclampsia? He asked in the inhouse psychic doctor and the only other woman who had had a baby.

It can be a fatal illness that pregnant women get if not caught early and treated. Paul came through.

Fatal?


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Gideon looked back down at the medical paperwork and then back to Zinnia. "Zinnia, what's all this about?" he asked as he showed her the paperwork he was concerned with.

Zinnia finished writing down her numbers before looking at the paperwork in his hands. "Gideon, I'm a high risk pregnancy because I'm carrying triplets. And most women are at risk for getting Preeclampsia with their first and sometimes their second. Basically if my blood pressure gets too high and few other factors, I'm put on bed rest until I deliver and if it's close enough they would just deliver the babies and that would be the end of that. Please don't worry about this," Zinnia said as she tried to reassure him.

"Paul said this was fatal," Gideon pressed.

"Ah, your psychic doctor. Yes, it is fatal, if left untreated. But my doctor is very much aware and she is watching me like a hawk. I have to see her tomorrow for a check-up and a baby position ultrasound. I'm hoping A is finally head down otherwise I have to have c-section," she explained.

"So you are all ok?" he asked, a little unnerved by what she said.

"Yes. You don't need to worry," she said.

Gideon nodded as he placed a hand on her stomach. "I'm coming with you tomorrow," he said looking back at the paperwork. "To keep you all safe and to meet your doctor. You trust her?"

"She agreed to keep all my medical records on paper. And she's been here for forever. I trust her," Zinnia said as she placed her hand on his.

"Just the same, I want do some research on her. Whitney has a lot of money and he's willing to spend or kill to get what he wants. You know this. I'm not taking any chances with you or our kids," Gideon said as he placed the folder on his nightstand and turned back to her. "Do me a favor?"

Zinnia gave Gideon a curious look before nodding softly. "What is it?"

Gideon smile at her and stood up and headed towards the door. "Write me a list of everything we're going to need for our babies. Don't know about you, but this area looks a little empty to me," he said before walking out the door before she could start to argue with him. He quickly made his way down to the one room they all shared.

There the girls all chatted happily and his kicked back and relaxed. Well all of them but Mack. The moment he entered the room, Mack walked up to, his hand scratching the back of his head. "Look, Gideon. I…" he began but Gideon waved him off.

"It's cool, Top. We all know how you are. Just try not to be too much of a bastard to her, please?" Gideon asked as he smiled at his brother.

Mack rolled his eyes clapped and hand around Gideon's shoulder's. "Better clean up that language if you're going to be having some kids," Mack said but gave Gideon a grateful look.

"You are not any better than I am. How many times does Jaimie and Rose need to correct you around Sebastian?" Gideon laughed as he grabbed himself a beer and took a seat next to Brian. He looked over as he watch Kane desperately trying to get Sebastian to take his first steps. Gideon was sure that Sebastian knew how to walk, he was just content with his mommy always wanting to hold him.

"Actually was are always correcting all of you heathens. None of you have gotten it in your heads to mind your manners and watch your language around the baby. And now there will be three more just around the corner. Shape up or ship out!" Jaimie said as she eyed everyone, daring any of them to test her.

Most of the boys gave her a mock salute while chuckling softly. "It's so cute when she tires to boss us around," Javier muttered before getting shot in the face with a pillow. When he looked around at the culprit who had assaulted him, he found a smirking Rhianna, her eyes daring him to try to retaliate. Javier just grumbled and walked over to Gideon and Brian, using them as shields in case she wanted to chuck some more pillows at him. "These women are all evil."

Gideon laughed at his poor brother then shook his head. "Hey Brian, mind helping me out tomorrow?" Gideon asked as he tipped back his beer.

"Sure, with what?" Brian asked he tried to ignore the dark glare he was getting from Jesse. He had made the mistake of asking Jesse if he could put the past behind them and let him reach out to Patsy. Big hell no was all he got from the Seal.

"Zinnia has a doctor's appointment to check on the babies. Need some cover while I go in with her. Javier, if you're up for your usual antics, I'll take you as well," Gideon said as he watched as Sebastian decided to humor his father and take a couple of steps. Watching Kane and Sebastian only made Gideon more excited to do the same things with his kids.

"I'm game," Javier said as the family applauded and cheered for Sebastian.

"If it means I don't have to be here with an angry Seal, then by all means, use me at your will," Brian said then winced at his words. "You know what I mean."

Javier and Gideon chuckled but decided that Brian was suffering enough. Gideon turned towards Kane next. "Hey Kane, up for playing sniper tomorrow?"

"Why am I doing your job?" Kane asked as he picked up Sebastian and handed him to his wife.

"Zinnia's got a doctor's appointment. I can't play sniper while I'm in there with her. Javier and Brian are coming too," he added. At this point he had everyone's attention.

"I got your back, Eagle," Kane said.

"I'm coming too," Mack said out of nowhere. "I need to make up for my bad behavior."

"Jaimie is making you, isn't she?" Gideon asked knowingly.

"No, I'm doing this because I screwed up," Mack said through gritted teeth.

Javier and Gideon looked at each other and nodded. "Jaimie is making him," they said together, drawing a chuckle out of everyone.

"Gideon, where's Zinnia?" Saber asked, pulling an earbud out of one of her ears.

"Left her upstairs. I'm hoping she's getting some sleep. She's exhausted. I don't think she's slept properly in a couple days and that can't be good for her," he contemplated.

"Speaking of her health. Lily was wondering if she can get an update on her. So she knows what equipment we will need," Jaimie said softly, gaining a dark look from Gideon.

Gideon placed his beer down and looked over at Jaimie. "When did this request come in?"

"Not long before you left to meet her. And I know what you're thinking, Gideon, but she cares about her health. She's not Whitney," Jaimie reminded.

"Lily really is concerned about her. She had no idea that Zinnia is carrying twins. That's a big deal. She just wants to help," Saber added, seeing where the conversation was going.

"Had? She knows now?" Gideon said, darkly.

"Yes. Gideon we are not prepared to deliver three babies here. Lily can get us what we need. I doubt Zinnia can deliver in a hospital. That's completely insecure. And what from our understanding, there's a good chance these babies will be premature and need assistance to live," Jaimie started. "Face it Gideon, you need her help."

"She makes the decision. This is her call. Whatever she chooses, I'll support her. I just don't like that she's been here less than 24 hours and already she's being forced to give up her choices," he said before watching as Paul came in with a large amount of large pizzas.

Jaimie got up and walked over to Gideon, pulling him aside. "I know this sucks and it's unfair to her but this is how we can protect her and the babies. Paul has already been studying obstetrics, pediatrics and neonatal care. He wants to help her and keep them all safe. We all do," she said as she rubbed a hand up his arm. "No one is going to take those babies away. They are our family, just like you are and just like Zinnia is becoming. Try to see it from our point of view."

Gideon nodded, taking a deep breath. Jaimie was good at cooling her hot headed brothers. He grabbed a pie and started to head up to his home. Not to his surprise, he found Zinnia passed out in his bed. She changed into a soft nightgown and had braided her hair. Her back was to him as she slept on her left side but he could see her arms protectively curled around their children, determined to keep them safe.

Gideon quickly changed into a pair of sweatpants and made sure his door was locked before walking over to his bed….their bed. Zinnia? Baby, wake up. You need to eat something. He thought to her, trying to coax her softly from her sleep.

Zinnia stirred slowly, rubbing her eyes as she did her best to roll towards him. However when she got to her back, she was stuck. Gideon chuckled softly as he took her in his arms and helped her up. She snuggled into his arms, clearly struggling to wake up, and apparently very comfortable in his arms. Come on, baby, rise and shine. You need to eat something. I'm sure the kids are hungry too. He said even as he held her tightly, kissing her head. He could easily and happily fall asleep with her in his arms right now but he was determined to get her to eat something.

I'll make a deal with you, eat 2 slices and I'll let you go back to bed. He offered and that seemed to be enough to drag her from her sleep.

"You need a snooze button," she murmured as she stood up from the bed.

Gideon inhaled sharply. What he thought was a nightgown, was actually a tight fitting tank top and booty shorts that very snuggly clung to her round ass. He could see every curve she had and from behind you couldn't even tell she was pregnant. He stirred instantly. His hard on rushing with such power that he barely could take a breath. He watched as she walked over to the table that he had placed the food on, bending slowly and taking a slice.

He stood up quickly from his bed, stalking her as he walked up behind her and pulled her close to him. Holding her body tight against him, knowing full well she'd feel him hard and throbbing. He wrapped his hands around her stomach, holding his family close together, all the while grinding his hips into her. "You're killing me, Zinnia," he whispered into her hair.

Zinnia breath hitched in her throat as she felt him hot, hard and in desperate need of her. And she couldn't stop her body arch against his. The heat she felt was instantaneous, her body clenching in desperate need of him. Zinnia didn't know if this was the Whitney cocktail or if they both truely and desperately wanted each other. Her body wanted him. It was practically begging her to give into him but her mind was stronger, reminding her that she wasn't looking for a relationship, that she just needed his help. With strength she didn't realize she possess, she managed to move away from him and steel with a hard look.

"Gideon," she said softly, searching for the words she needed. "I told you I'm not looking for anything. Perhaps I should stay somewhere else."

She quickly walked over to her clothes and pulled on a pair of pants and shirt. Prepared to stay somewhere else. As she was about to head for the door, Gideon grabbed her arm and spun her around, pinning her to the wall. He was so close to her that she could feel the heat radiating off him, along with his need for her. Gideon gave her a hard dark look as he held her tightly. Zinnia's eyes matched his own and almost instantly the hairs on Gideon stood on end. He was feeling her power and it was frightening, but he wasn't someone you could frighten away. He let her have a taste of his own power and smirked when he saw her confusion.

"I said I would take care of my family. That includes you, Zinnia, no one else is taking that from me. You may be more powerful than all of us but don't test me. I will you keep you and our kids safe but we do it my way. I swear Whitney will never get his hands on you or them, but make no mistake, Zinnia, I want you. And it has nothing to do with that bastard. So you're staying here with me. I'll sleep on the floor. But if I've learned one thing from my brothers and sisters, it's that one day soon I will call you mine and I honestly look forward to it," he said before walking away from her and taking a seat at the table.

Zinnia had been holding her breath the entire time he made his declaration to her. She was always in control of herself and her emotions but Gideon had the power to intimidate and arouse her at the same time. She had to mentally slap herself to move towards the table to eat. Sitting down and taking some food, she noticed that he was shifting uncomfortably and had a decent scowl on his face. Zinnia smirked as the ache she felt deep with in her eased only slight.

"What's so funny?" Gideon asked as he took some food.

"Staying here may just be the most interesting and irritating thing I've done in my life," she said as someone knocked on the door.

"Hey! You two alright in there?" Kane asked.

"Just say the word, and I'll make it all the more interesting," Gideon said before walking over and opening the door. "Yeah, why? Something wrong?" he asked.

"You mean you guys didn't feel it? The whole damn block was vibrating. I'd say it was an earthquake but we all felt a power spike," Kane said as he looked over at Zinnia who was intensely focused on her pizza and trying hard to hide her smirk. "Um...do you two need a chaperone?"

"We're fine. Just a little ground rule understanding. I don't think there will be anymore...vibrating," Gideon said as he heard Zinnia snort behind him. "Yeah. Uh...thanks for checking in though."

Zane's confused look broke out into a huge cheesy grin as he looked at Gideon. "Damn, you have it bad. I might suggest a freezing shower or a hard ass swim in the ocean."

"Feel free to fuck off now," Gideon said as he pushed his laughing brother out the door.

"You might want to take up that swim idea," Zinnia said as she giggled softly.

Her voice vibrated deep in Gideon's chest, filling him with a warmth he hadn't felt in a long time. "Yeah, you can zip it too," he said as he grabbed himself a towel.

"Where are you going? You haven't finished your food," she asked knowingly.

"I'm getting a shower," Gideon said and rolled his eyes as her giggles turned into a roaring laughter.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Check Up...Check Out

Zinnia had decided to crawl into Gideon's bed while he was in the shower. She was exhausted and didn't really feel like having anymore conversations. Tomorrow would be another day and she was sure that there were more obstacles for them to face. Zinnia tried to calm her mind so that she could get at least some sleep but every part of her was on high alert. She couldn't get her mind to get past the idea of trusting the people around her to keep her and her children safe. She had come to them for help but as she laid there, all she could think about doing was running and hiding. Protecting her and her children from the monster of her past.

She heard Gideon walk back into the room, shuffling around doing odds and ends. At one point he walked over to her and stood there watching her. Zinnia did her best to act like she was asleep. She kept her breath slow and light. Her mind blank and her body still. But Gideon wasn't buying it. Gently he placed his hand on her back. "Quick faking," he said softly as he crawled in behind her, wrapping his arm protectively around her and their children. His palm sprawled across her large stomach, letting his kids know that their dad had their mother's back and would keep them safe. "You're safe Zinnia. I promise, I'll keep you safe."

At his words, Zinnia finally relaxed and fell asleep...for at least two hours. Zinnia jumped awake when she felt Gideon suddenly move, letting out a shocked sound. "What the fuck?" he said in the dark as he looked at his hand.

"What's wrong?" She asked as she searched their surroundings, using her night vision for any threat that had entered. Her heart was in her throat as she prepared to fight. Gideon looked down at her stomach then back at his hand. Zinnia watched him, for a moment, confused at his outburst before she felt what had startled him. Laying back down, she grabbed his hand and placed it back on her stomach. "They're very active at night. Sorry if they startled you."

Gideon watched her for a moment before looking back at her stomach. Every now and then there would be a bump against his hand. Sometimes soft. Others with a bit more force. Gideon felt something deep within him shift as he felt his children move around inside her. As if feeling their movements finally made them real to him. Zinnia watched him carefully. His face unreadable at first before smile a graced his features. Rolling back to her side, she help him find their movements again before getting comfy. "Are they always like this?" he asked softly.

"Every night. Like they are playing a game or something. You kinda get used to them unless one of them is in a bad mood, then I don't get to sleep and get the joy of being in pain all night long," she said as she yawned.

"Go back to sleep. I'm sorry I woke you," he whispered softly as he pulled her close so he could feel his children more. Gideon enjoyed feeling his children as they 'played'. And she was right, they were very active.

When morning first came around, Zinnia was the first to rise. With great effort, she somehow managed to wiggle free of Gideon and make her way to the bathroom. When she came out, she was surprised to see Gideon already up and dressed. "Good morning," she said softly as she looked in her bags for a clean outfit.

"Morning. How'd you sleep?" he asked as he nursed his coffee that he gracefully stole from Javier.

"Good. Been awhile since I could say that," she said as she pulled out a pair of jeans and a burgundy cold shoulder top.

"Good. Hopefully that means you're getting comfortable with us," he said as he handed her a glass of orange juice. "Here, snagged this for you."

"Thanks," she said as she took of sip of the cool juice, feeling already rejuvenated by it.

"Of course. So what time is your appointment today? We need to get things ready before we go so that we're prepared," Gideon said as he watched her every movement.

"9:30. I always go for morning appointments, less people tend to be there," she explained before catching the 'we' comment. "How many is 'we'?"

"In the actual office? Just you and I." He began. "Surrounding the office building, you've got Mack, Kane, Brian, and Javier. Mack wasn't supposed to come but his wife is making him seeing as he was being so rude."

"That's a lot of super soldiers going for a simple check up. Who will be here to protect everyone here?" she said as she walked into the bathroom to change. She didn't think that Gideon needed anymore encouragement.

Gideon chuckled softly as he rolled his eyes. "There will be plenty here that can hold down the fort. Don't worry," he said as he started to get ready to head to the appointment. He sent a message to his brothers to be combat ready only to be reminded of a conversation he needed to have with Zinnia by Jamie. "Hey Zin, I got a question for you."

"Zin? Really?" Zinnia asked, humor in her eyes as she mulled the nickname over. "What's your question?"

"How flexible are you on the location of where you have our babies?" he asked, preparing himself for the blow back.

Zinnia came out of the bathroom, completely dressed, her hair pulled up into a high ponytail. Her eyes narrowed as if trying to read his mind. "That depends on how I can give birth. But that's not what you mean is it? Someone has a suggestion or perhaps it's not a suggestion…" she said as she approached him.

Gideon didn't back down as he saw what most would deem a frightening sight for those who crossed her. And as every fiber in him telling him to back off, he stayed strong. "There has been a suggestion made due to security efforts. Some feel it would be safer to have them here, where the whole team can keep everyone safe. Being in a hospital gives Whitney too many opportunities. I don't disagree with them. We can keep you safer here. We can keep our kids safer here. Lily has already started to make the preparations. Getting equipment we might need. Paul is studying on whatever it is he needs to do. I think it would be best for you and the kids to be here when they are born," Gideon said before realizing that he may have overstepped his bounds.

The bathroom door next to Zinnia exploded into dust on the floor. She glared hard at Gideon, even as she saw his apartment door bang open and his team come in. "What the hell was that noise?" Gideon heard Brian shout but Gideon instantly placed a hand up to stop them from moving or saying anything. Wynter pushed her way in front of the group as she saw her sister, clearly unnerved by them.

"Let me make something very perfectly clear. I already lived under the control of Whitney, I will not go through that again," she warned.

Everyone kept their distance from her except Gideon, who went immediately to her and pulled her into his arms. "No one is here to control you, Zinnia. Everyone just want what's best for you and our babies. And Lily would never control you like he did. She just wants to keep you safe," he said as he slowly was able to calm Zinnia down.

When everyone was certain the danger had passed, Wynter walked over to her sister and hugged her before making her look her in the eyes. "You need to get those hormones under control before one of the guys loses one of their favorite toys."

"Or something else we love more," Jesse said as he came up beside his wife and place an hand on Zinnia's shoulder. "Need me to beat up Gideon for you?"

Gideon held Zinnia tight in his arms, his newly developing protective streak rearing it's little head out at Jesse touching what was his. "Yeah you can go to hell with that offer," he said as he reached out to Zinnia with his mind. _Are you ok now?_

"You need to stop cursing, they can hear you," Zinnia finally said as she fully calmed down. _Yes. I'm really sorry about the door, Gideon. I've been having a lot of accidents during this pregnancy. I really never lose control like that._ _I think I've scared your family._ She thought to him as she watched all the careful looks.

"Duly noted. Stop swearing. Check," he said as he rubbed the small of her back to comfort her. She had scared them but he wouldn't let them stay that way for long. Turning back to his family, he gave Mack a hard look.

Mack returned the look and for a moment the two didn't move or speak. Until Mack shook his head and turned towards Zinnia. "So how far away is this doc of your's? We need to do a little geographical recon before we leave," he said before ushering everyone out the door. "Oh and Zinnia. Whatever you turn to dust you have to bring back better than before. That's the deal.I expect to see that door like something you'd see in a palace."

Zinnia watched as Mack smiled at her before walking out the door. With that smile, he had accepted her and her abilities. When they shut Gideon's door, she didn't know how to react. It was like this unknown ice that she had packed deep within her had suddenly chipped. She had felt that with Gideon but now with Mack. She looked back at Gideon and before she could stop herself, she buried her face in his shoulder and held on.

Gideon sent Mack a quick thank you before holding onto Zinnia. She wasn't crying but he knew that she needed someone to just hold her and he was more than willing to do that for as long as she needed. Or until they had to leave. After a couple minutes, she pulled away and walked over to the dust pile on the ground. Instantly the dust started to dance around in the doorway. It was mesmerizing to Gideon and when all was said and done, a new door stood in the doorway. Zinnia had taken Mack's words to heart as the door was now ornately detailed and damn gorgeous. Gideon let out a whistle as he rubbed his hand on the door. "That's fucking gorgeous, Zinnia! You have an eye," he said as he smiled at her. "You're going to make everyone jealous of my bathroom."

Zinnia waivered a bit on her feet, the slight movement caught Gideon's eyes as he went to steady her. Zinnia had a hand on her stomach and another on her head. Gideon place his hands around her waist and looked at her. "You feeling alright?" Gideon ask as he looked her over.

She nodded before getting her stuff together for the doctors. "Yes, I'm just exhausted. I dont have the same stamina as before. But we need to go or we will be late," she said as they made their way down to the ground floor where the small team that would escort them would be waiting. Zinnia went over the location of the doctors and all five men began discussing strategy

When everything was settled and ready, Zinnia and Gideon took one car while the others drove behind them in a second. Zinnia's doctor was only a 10 minute drive from their home. Gideon pulled into the parking lot and jumped out of the car to let Zinnia out. He used his body to shield hers as they walked in. The moment they walked in Gideon was out of his comfort zone. Three pregnant women sat in the waiting room and a young teenager sat by the door, grumbling to her friends about getting busted for having sex. But he also notice that not a single man was around and it unnerved him a bit.

Gideon walked Zinnia to the check in counter. As she talked to the receptionist, Gideon checked in with his brothers. _You guys in place?_

 _Affirmative. Operation mama bird and her three little chicks is a go._ Kane said getting a few chuckles from the others.

Gideon rolled his eyes. _Be a smartass later. Keep your eyes peeled and minds open. Feeling really exposed right now._

 _That's cause there are a shit ton of windows Eagle. It'd be too easy._ Javier said as he skated past one set of windows with a few kids whose moms were inside.

"Gideon?" Zinnia said catching his attention. "Why don't you take a seat? I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Bathroom. Have to pee in a cup," she said as the receptionist opened the door for her but instead of Gideon heading into the waiting room, he just followed her. "What are you doing?"

"Where you go, I follow. Sorry Zinnia, I'm not letting you out of my sight," he said as the receptionist gave them a weird look.

"I'm too tired to argue. You win this round," she said as they walked back to a bathroom. Zinnia should have felt weird going to the bathroom in front of him but being an experiment had taken all shyness away.

When they returned to the waiting room, Zinnia chose her normal corner. From there she could see all windows and doors. Gideon sat beside her, his head on a constant swivel. Every now and then he'd look to Zinnia who just rubbed her stomach, not making eye contact with anyone but he could see that she was on high alert. Ready to move in an instant if she needed to.

"Michelle Smith?" a nurse called into the waiting room.

Zinnia pushed herself up from her chair and put her hand out to Gideon. _Michelle?_

 _Do you honestly think I'd use my real name?_

 _Fair enough._ Gideon thought before taking her hand and walking back to the nurse. _Heading back. All up to you guys._

 _All quiet on the rooftops._ Kane said as he kept his eye to the scope.

Gideon and Zinnia made their way to a large office. Zinnia was instructed to change into a gown and to lay down on the short bed. Gideon closed the door and turned around to see Zinnia already changing and getting onto the bed. Gideon went to her side to help her up before grabbing a seat next to her. Zinnia kepted seat. She'd only lay down when she needed to as she always felt like a beached whale and usually got stuck. "We need to get our story straight," Zinnia said as she broke the silence.

"What story is that?" Gideon said as he place his hand on her leg, needing to have some contact with her.

"Who are you to me. To the babies," she explained.

"What have you told her about the father?" he asked.

"Military boyfriend who is currently overseas," she said as a red tint came to her cheeks.

Gideon couldn't hide the smile that graced his face. "Boyfriend huh? We're about to have three kids. I think I'm a bit more than that and certainly glad my deployment was oh so short," he teased.

"I could smack you," Zinnia said as she rolled her eyes.

 _Should have had you come in full military dress. That would have really sold the story._ Brian thought out as he positioned himself at the little cafe across the street.

 _I can smack you too if you want._ Zinnia thought to Brian and receiving a warm chuckle from the entire group.

 _Make sure you do it in front of Jesse. I'm sure he'd have a good time watching you beat up on him._ Gideon thought out to his team, even as he gave her a wink.

 _Traitor!_ Brian accused.

 _Am I missing something? What's the issue between Jesse and Brian?_ Zinnia asked.

 _Brian has the mega hots for Jesse's sister, Patsy. She's not enhanced like us so that Seal is double protective of her and well...our Brian didn't exactly make that great of a first impression with Jesse._ Kane explained.

 _I hate you all._ Brian thought gathering a roar of laughter from everyone.

There was a knock on the door before Zinnia's doctor entered the room. "Morning Zinnia," she said she looked at Gideon sitting next to her. "Who are you?"

Gideon raised an eyebrow to her. She was blunt and clearly not playing around. "I'm Gideon," he said as he smiled at her. "Pleasure to meet you ma'am."

The doctor looked at Gideon then to Zinnia. "This the sperm donor?" she asked.

Zinnia heard the roll of uncontrollable laughter of his team as they were all listening in. "That's him. Back stateside," she laughed at Gideon's confusion. "Gideon, this is Dr. Sue Wagner."

"Donor?" he asked before turning back to the doctor. "Ma'am, I think I'm a bit more than that."

"To Zinnia, perhaps you are but as I work with women reproduction, men are simply donors and that is their only contribution to what happens in my office," Dr. Wagner said as she instructed Zinnia to lay back. "So I see you're back from deployment. Zinnia wasn't sure you'd be around for the welcoming party."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," he said as he stood up next to her.

Dr. Wagner looked between him and Zinnia. "Good to hear. Alright Zinnia, if you want to lift your gown, we'll check the fundal height and then check their positions," she said as Zinnia lifted the gown up over her stomach. As she lifted the gown, the doctor placed a cover over her legs for privacy. She took out a measuring tape and laid it down her abdomen.

"What's that for?" Gideon asked, curiously.

"I'm checking to see how long her uterus is. If she has drop below 40 cm then she is in the home stretch for delivery," the doctor explained, before pulling away. "You have indeed dropped. I'm not surprised. I knew these babies would be early. I'd expect you to be delivering in the next week or so. Are they still moving?"

"Every night. Scared Gideon yesterday," Zinnia laughed as the doctor worked a machine closer to Zinnia, squirting a thick blue gel on her stomach.

"Good. How's that blood pressure? Keeping it down?" she asked as the probe ran across her stomach.

"Trying. It's been a rough week," she said as she looked at the screen. Pointing at the screen, she directed Gideon's attention. "You can see them."

Dr. Wagner moved the probe all the way down to Zinnia's pelvis. "Pour the champagne, Zinna. Baby A is in perfect position for delivery. Not gonna lie, thought this one was going to be a rebel and refuse to turn but they are head down and ready to go."

"So everything's good for natural?" Zinnia asked as she looked at the screen.

"You're good to go," she said as she turned up the volume and allowed baby A's heartbeat flooded the room. Both women looked at Gideon and as he heard the sound of his child.

"That's the baby's heart?" he asked softly.

"Yes, it is," she said before moving towards baby B and and baby C and listening to their heartbeats.

"Any chance we can find out their genders?" Zinnia asked, hope filling her voice.

Dr. Wagner began poking and bumping the kids, trying to get them to move before shaking her head. "Ugh. Zinnia, you're children are stubborn," she said before turning off the machine. "You are just going to have to wait until they're born."

The doctor finished up her exam, moving towards her internal exam making Gideon actually look away. The doctor just rolled her eyes before moving away and looking back at her chart and writing out her notes. "Alright Zinnia, time to have the talk. We need to make a decision on where you're delivering. I would put money on that you will not make it another week. You're already starting to dilate," she explained as she looked at her patient.

"What would you recommend?" Zinnia asked.

"Hospital. Those babies are going to be tiny. There is a good chance at least one will need to be in NICU. But I know you want to stay off the grid. What are your thoughts on this?" she said as she looked at Gideon.

"Honestly. I wouldn't mind a home birth. It would be safer since we want to stay off the grid and we can get access to anything we would need for them," he said as he looked at Zinnia who was giving him a dirty look.

 _What are you doing?_ She thought to him.

 _Testing the waters._ He said as he looked at the doctor. "What is your thoughts on that?"

"It would be off the grid and if and I do mean IF you were able to get all the equipment for both delivery and a potential c- section, proper equipment to handle premature infants and staff that know what they are doing, then maybe it would be safe. But that's a lot to gather in short time," Dr. Wagner listed off.

"So if you were to write me a list of every thing we would need, would you and a nurse you trust be willing to come and do the delivery? I know Zinnia would feel safer in your hands," he said.

Dr. Wagner's pen taped the chart before giving Zinnia a hard look. "I know you said you had a very good reason for why you needed to be off the grid but tell me this, are you in danger?" she asked.

Zinnia rubbed her forehead and nodded. "My entire life. Been on the run from a very evil man," she said as Gideon went beside her, rubbing his hand down her back.

"Then if a home birth is what you want, then give me a call and I'll be there," Dr. Wagner said.

Zinnia looked at the doctor then back to Gideon. _I'm not going to win this, am I?_

 _I don't want to give that bastard any chances._ Gideon thought to her.

 _Zinnia, just to let you know. Several other members of the other teams have volunteered as security duty when you deliver. You're family now, and we protect our own. I bet you could ask for everyone to come and Lily would uproot everyone to stand guard._ Zane thought to her, sensing her tension.

Zinnia shook her head slightly, giving a soft sigh and a chuckle. "I guess a home birth it is," she said as she wiped at the tear that fallen down her cheek. She had never really felt like she had a real family to depend on. She does now.


	9. Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

First Attempt

Zinnia took her time getting dressed. She couldn't believe what she had agreed to. A home birth. She felt like no matter what choice she made, she and her children would face danger. At least with this option she would have an army of Ghostwalkers to protect them. Gideon helped Zinnia with her coat as Dr. Wagner rejoined them.

"Here you go. Get everything on this list and I'll sign off on a home birth," she said as she handed a small notebook to Gideon.

"All of this?" he asked, shocked.

"All of it. There are four patients involved. All of it is needed for them. Is this a problem?" she asked.

"Nope, we'll get it all. Call you for the big day," he said as he placed the list in his pocket and escorted Zinnia out towards reception. "I think I like your doctor."

Zinnia snickered as they walked out of the clinic. As Gideon opened the door for Zinnia, she froze, tension rising in her. Gideon picked up on her sudden change. "Zin?" he asked softly.

 _You guys ok?_ Mack reached out.

"Six. Six powerful violent energies are here. They pinged my radar," she said, her hand clutching her stomach.

Gideon quickly ushered Zinnia into the back of the car. Before he even got to the driver side, Brian and Javier jumped into the back seat beside Zinnia, using their bodies as shields to protect her. Mack met up with Kane as they made their way towards the second vehicle. Gideon moved quickly to get out on the road. Gideon looked up in the rearview, his eyes focused on Zinnia. Her brow focused intensely. "Zin? Baby, you got to talk to me. What is it?" he asked.

"We're surrounded," she said as their car was boxed in on all four sides by four black SUVs. The car in front of them was forcing them to slow down as the cars on their sides got closer to them.

"FUCK!" Gideon shouted as he went through his options.

"We're armed. We can take out the drivers on either side of us," Brian said as he took out his gun and aimed it at the passenger side window, doing his best to see inside.

 _Hey! You guys need to prepare yourselves. Mack is expressing his inner road rage. Coming up your left side._ Kane warned them before the SUV on their left spun out of control from Mack driving. Before Mack could maneuver to take out another car, the one that was on their tail, moved to plow into Mack's car.

 _You guys alright?_ Javier asked.

 _Fucker! That was sneaky!_ Mack said as he recovered from the blow.

Gideon looked in the mirror as he focused on Zinnia. She had her head down, arms wrapped around her stomach. For a moment, she resembled the girl from the photos. Gideon searched for the words to comfort her but her head snapped up. "GIDEON! THE RIGHT CAR!" she shouted just a few moments before the right SUV swerved into theirs. Zinnia was the only one to brace themselves as the car rolled towards an abandoned warehouse.

When the car had stopped moving, it was on its roof. The three black SUVs surrounded the car before armed men rushed out. "Target in the back center. No one touches her until confirmation of sedation," a man ordered.

Zinnia looked to her sides. Javier and Brian were unconscious. Looking up front, she saw Gideon. He was hurt. Zinnia undid her belt, falling onto the roof of the car. Outside she heard gunshots and knew that Kane and Mack were trying to do anything to help. Zinnia checked Javier and Brian. They were alive. Doing her best to get to Gideon, she checked on his injuries. Several shards of glass had made several deep gashes all over his body but what concerned her was the large piece of glass sticking out of his abdomen. She quickly took off her coat and wrapped it around the wound to keep it from bleeding out. Zinnia looked at Gideon as he hung there. She brushed a soft kiss against his temple before looking out towards the soldiers. Half were firing towards Mack's car and the other half were coming for her. Rage boiled deep within her causing the car to vibrate as she made her way towards the window. Once she saw the weapons with the tranqs she used her energy to jam them. If she was going to fight, then she'd need to conserve her energy.

Gideon woke to when he felt the kiss on his forehead. Zinnia had gotten loose and was on her way out of the car. Gideon tried to call for her but this throat felt like it had been kicked by a horse. All he could do was reach out to her to try and stop her. Kicking open the door, Zinnia crawled out in front of the soldiers who instantly turned their guns on her. "Target in sight! Take the shot!" a man order and all Gideon could do was scream her name.

Zinnia smiled evil as the tranquilizer shots failed to fire. With blinding speed, she dashed from man to man, slamming an open palm against their got half way through the men before a man was able to grab her hair, yanking her back against his chest. He wrapped a large arm around her stomach, holding her tightly as he pulled a syringe out of his pocket. "I'd hold still if I were you, don't want me to miss and hit the baby, do you?" he threatened before taking the cap off.

Zinnia panicked for a moment as she thought of that syringe going anywhere near her children. But before she could regain her focus, she felt him being ripped off her causing her to fall. Turning around she saw Gideon standing on the man's throat, gun at his head. There was a moment as Gideon looked at the man. His eyes cold and calculating before he pulled the trigger. Gideon got off the man, before making his way to Zinnia, pulling her into his arms. "Are you ok? The babies?" he asked, his body shaking.

Zinnia nodded as she wrapped her arms around him to support him. Javier and Brian were finishing off the men that Zinnia didn't get to as Mack and Kane joined them. "Well that was fun," Javier said as he looked at the bloodbath around them. "Zinnia, what did you do to these bastards?"

"Took their hearts," she shrugged. "They hurt those that I care about, so I hurt something they care about."

Javier gave a huge grin before looking to Mack. "Top. She's the sister I always wanted. Can we keep her?" he asked.

"You can talk about keeping me later, Gideon needs medical attention," she said as she tried to support his heavy body.

Brian and Kane came over and lifted him up to check him out. "Damn. This is deep," Kane said as he inspected the wound.

"Calling ahead to Paul to set up the operating room. I need to call Lily for clean up. This is ugly," Mack said as he looked around at the mess before looking back at Zinnia. "Um...Zinnia. Is it possible.."

Zinnia knew that he was asking. "I need an anchor," she said as she looked around them.

"Javier, help her out," Mack said.

Javier walked over and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Do your thing, little sis!" he said joyfully. Zinnia couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at his eagerness before setting her eyes on the mess before her. Like her apartment, the men and their cars began to disappear, becoming one with the universe once again. Once Gideon was loaded into the other car, Kane, Mack and Brian rolled the other car back onto its wheels. Zinnia moved her focus onto the damaged car slowly it began to restore itself. And within a few minutes, the car looked and ran brand new.

Even with Javier as her anchor, blood seeped from her nose and ears. She was pushing herself too much in such a little amount of time. The world around her wavered a bit. Exhaustion seeped deep into her core. She was starting to fade since she didn't feel Javier lift her up and place her in the car. Zinnia was vaguely aware of the car moving before all went to black. When Zinnia came too she was laying down in Gideon's bed, alone. Slowly, she maneuvered herself off the bed.

The moment she was sitting upright, pain came rushing to her head. It was so instant that she didn't have time to brace herself. She grabbed her head and internally screamed. It had been a very long time since she felt this kind of pain. She squeezed her eyes shut tight, trying to breathe through the pain. After a few moments, she felt herself being shaken and she opened her eyes to see Saber and Jesse trying to get her attention. Zinnia blinked a couple of times before taking a deep breaths.

"You ok?" Saber asked as she rubbed her back.

"Yeah. The pain is starting to go away," Zinnia said as she looked around.

"It's been a long time since I've seen your episodes," Saber said as she tried to coax her back to bed.

"Been a long time since I had one. I just used up too much of my energy," she said as she gently pushed Saber's coaxing hand. "Where's Gideon?"

"He's in surgery. He's been there for the last two hours. Last I heard, he's going to be fine," Jesse said as he got up from the bed.

"Take me to him," she said as she tried to get out of bed.

"Oh no! You've pushed yourself too far. You and those babies need to rest and you're not going to do that downstairs," Saber said as she tried to put as much of a command into her voice.

"I need to be with him. This is MY fault," Zinnia argued back.

"This isn't your fault, Zinnia. Not at all," Jesse told her as he did his best to reassure her. "Whitney is the only one to blame here."

"Jesse's right besides, the best way you can help Gideon is by staying put and getting rest. Your blood pressure is still too high. It's dangerous for you and the babies. So please...rest. We'll come and get you when he is awake," Saber pleaded, finally succeeding getting Zinnia to lay down and watching her eyes slowly drift close.

By the time Gideon woke up, it was night. His body was still laying in their makeshift surgery area. He looked around the surgery and found Brian sitting beside him reading a book. Gideon slowly reached out to Brian, grabbing his shoulder. Brian quickly turned towards Gideon and smiled. "Welcome back," he said as he stood up and grabbed his brother's hand.

"What happened? Where's Zinnia? Is she ok? The babies?" Gideon asked in a panic as he realized that she wasn't with him. He pushed back at the leads and blanket covering him, trying to get out of bed.

"Woah. Calm down before you rip your stitches out," Brian said as he pushed his friend back into bed. "She's asleep in your bed. She's fine and the babies are fine too. She just used too much energy and is exhausted. She's worried about you."

"I need to see her," Gideon said as he tried to get up again.

"Don't you dare move, Gideon!" Jaimie ordered as she and their family walked into the surgery.

Mack stood closely behind Jaimie as she scolded Gideon. "Better do as you are told. Jaimie here is a little angry," Mack said, his voice showing the humor he had towards his wife's anger.

"I need to get to Zinnia," Gideon said, not in the mood to play the game of teasing his sister. He couldn't begin to describe how badly he needed her in his arms. To feel his children. To know they were all safe.

"Settle down, Gideon. Jesse and Saber went to get her the moment we heard you losing your mind in here," Mack said as he went beside his brother.

Knowing that she would be there soon, helped to put him at ease. His eyes zeroed in on the door as he waited for her. He knew that his family wanted to talk but he needed her. A few moments later, Zinnia came through the door, rushing towards him, taking his hand in hers. "Are you alright?" she asked as she looked him over, especially where his abdomen was pierced.

"I heal fast, don't worry about me. What about you and the babies?" he asked, his hand instantly going to her large abdomen.

"Perfectly fine. You don't need to worry. Just get better," she said as she smiled at him.

"Yeah, I'm gonna call bullshit on that," Kane said as he walked in with Rose at his side. "She damn near took the house down while you were in surgery."

Zinnia shot him a dirty glare but was brought back to Gideon when he gently tugged on her hand. "Give us a moment, please," he said to his family. Without hesitation, they all left, leaving Gideon alone with Zinnia. Zinnia took Brian's seat as she held his hand. "Zin?"

"I'm fine. I promise. It's been a long time since I pushed myself like that. I didn't have a chance to prepare myself," she said as she tried to reassure him.

"I thought you were an anchor," he said as he slightly angled himself towards her.

"I am but when I do big stuff, like today, I need to prepare my brain. I didn't have time to do that and well you know about backlashes," she said as she rubbed her hand over her stomach. "But you don't need to worry. It passed."

"I'm going to worry, regardless. They ran us off the fucking road. They put my family endanger. My children. I'm going to rip Whitney's fucking heart out!" Gideon growled.

"Stop swearing. The babies can hear you. I don't need their first words to be 'fucking'," she said as she tried to ease his tension. "But I agree with you. And I have a feeling that Whitney isn't done yet. He sent a small army that time. He's getting desperate. I've put you all at risk."

"Don't fucking go there. Don't even think about it. You are family and family, especially mine, will fight like hell for each other. If Whitney wants to throw everything at us, including the fucking kitchen sink then he can. We'll just throw it back, slightly harder," he said as he pulled her closer to her.

Zinnia smiled softly as he pulled her from her seat to lie next to him in bed. She protested, not wanting to hurt him but he was insistent, eventually winning as she gently curled in beside him, allowing him to wrap his body around hers, his hand covering her abdomen, guarding his children. Zinnia covered his hand with hers, settling into the nook of his body. "If you keep up with this swearing, then I'm gonna wash your mouth out with soap," she whispered softly.

Gideon chuckled softly. "Yes ma'am," he said as he kissed the side of her neck then her cheek. With that, the two fell asleep, holding each other.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Second Attempt

Zinnia was a force of nature! When Gideon was moved from the surgery to his room, she was very insistent on taking care of him, still believing it was her fault that he was injured. They would argue several times a day over her trying to care for him and Gideon trying to convince her to rest. This provided plenty of entertainment for everyone else. Two days after the first attempt, Gideon had finally managed to prove he was fine and to get her to finally rest. For about two hours that is.

"Will you idiots please let me help? I could finish this so much faster than you neanderthals!" Zinnia shouted from the couch as the massive family room was covered in boxes. Gideon had gone out with a few of his brothers and purchased triplicate of everything his children would need and at the moment, the men had teamed up to race to see who could put a crib together fastest.

Zinnia insisted on building them herself from thin air but Gideon was very insistent that she would be resting while he handled everything and right now, he and Brian were falling behind the other teams. "No! You are not moving a muscle over there!" he growled as he attempted to hold three sides up at the same time as Brian tried to screw in a bolt.

Jamie, Rhianna, Rose and Saber each had a drink in their hands as they enjoyed hearing the men complain. Zinnia on the other hand was contemplating throwing things at all of them. "You are all being stupid. First off, why is this a race? Don't you think you should take your time and make sure it is done properly? Or do I need to worry about one of these collapsing in the middle of the night with a baby in it?" she asked as the room suddenly filled with silence.

All the men looked at her for a moment. Not sure how to respond. Finally it was Kane who broke the tension. "Well, Zinnie," he said using a nickname that she hated but secretly liked. "I'm sure if we can put together missions and come out unscathed, then our little nieces or nephews will be perfectly safe in the beds their awesome uncles and ok dad will build."

Zinnia cocked her head to the side as she looked at Kane. "Yeah, I think you might want to rethink your words there, Kane. I do know about the extraction you and Rose went through with Sebastian. Exactly how long did it take for you to recover from your injuries?" she asked, gaining a couple of snickers from men.

Zane glared at her before turning towards Rose. "Really?" he asked as if betrayed and injured.

"Stupid men do a lot of stupid things," Rose mused before busting out laughing with the rest of the women. "I still say that if you listened to me, you wouldn't have been so hurt. Perhaps you all should listen to her."

Before the men could fire back, a knock came to the front door. Instantly, the alarms sounded and the cameras came online to show who had arrived. It was an army of brothers, with a massive amount of large boxes. "They made it!" Jamie shouted as she jumped over the couch and made her way to the front door. "Welcome!"

Lily was the first to come through the door as she hugged Jamie. "So good to see you again!" she said as she hugged her before moving out of the way. "I've brought everything on the list that the doctor gave you guys, as well as volunteers. Ryland and I will be heading back tonight. I don't really like being away from my sweet baby."

"Completely understandable," Jaime said as she moved aside for the massive amount of muscle and boxes.

"Can I meet her?" Lily asked as she turned towards Jamie.

"Yeah she's upstairs but be careful there are a lot of boxes and furniture being built," Jamie said as she and Lily jumped into the line that was hauling up medical equipment. When they reached the family room, the men were already embracing the new arrivals. Jamie led Lily to where a very unnerved Zinnia sat. There were a lot of new people for her and she was itching to get away. Jamie sat next to Zinnia and placed a hand on her arm. "Hey. Zinnia, this is Lily Miller. She wanted to finally meet you."

Zinnia looked at the woman that she had spoken to online. She was small and walked with a slight limp. Lily extended her hand out to Zinnia and gave her a very warm smile. "It's so great to finally meet you in person and to have you join our family," she said as she did her best to be warm and welcoming. "This is my husband, Ryland. He's the leader of Team One.

Zinnia eyed her hand for a moment before taking it then taking her husband's and nodded. "It's nice to meet you too," she said as the rest of the men joined the room. "There are a lot of people here."

Hearing the nervousness in her voice, Gideon instantly went to her side, pulling her close to help reassure her. "Zin, these men and women are our family. They are your family. They are here to help keep you and the babies safe. You needn't worry," he said softly to her, to reassure her. His words brought her comfort as she relaxed next to him and did her best to smile up at the strangers. Gideon wrapped an arm around her as he turned to the men. "Perhaps you guys should introduce yourselves."

The men chuckled soft as they slowly approached her, hands stretched out. "Kadan Montague, ma'am. My wife is Tansy. She wanted to come along to meet you but opted to stay home and help with the kids. It's an honor to meet the woman who actually hurt that evil bastard," he said as he shook her hand.

"For the love of God! Mind your language!" Flame said as she booted him out of the way. "I'm Flame, obviously and this is my charmingly annoying husband, Raoul."

"GATOR, ma cher," he corrected as he took Zinnia's hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Zahara."

Zinnia nodded as she smiled at him before another man approached her with a soft smile. "My name is Kyle Forbes, ma'am. I'm a trained doctor and thought I could be of service to you and Paul here."

Kyle shook her hand for a moment before stepping aside to allow another member to approach her. "Logan Maxwell. Leader of the SEAL team. That grumpy mean bastard in the corner is Jack Norton. He's not exactly a socialite like the rest of us but he is the best sniper along with his twin brother," Logan said as Gideon snicker and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, Ok there, Carpenter. Anyway, he has experience with multiples so feel free to annoy the living hell out of him by asking him any and every question you could have."

Before Logan had a chance to let her hand go, a large empty box came sailing through the air and hitting Logan square in the head causing everyone to start laughing. "Feel free to take the hint, Maxwell," Jack said as he did his best to appear relaxed.

Zinnia chuckled softly as a young woman approached her and smiled. "It's so nice to have a new sister!" she said excitedly. "My name is Pepper Fontenot. Wyatt, here is my husband and Gator's brother. I had triplets girls so please ask me anything. I am here to help you as best as I can."

Unlike the men, Zinnia grasped Pepper's hand with both of hers and held it tightly as she smiled up at her. For a moment, they all saw a glimmer of fear in her eyes and it was then that they realized just how afraid she was to have triplets. "Thank you," she said softly. Gideon tightened his arm around her. He thought it was just Whitney that she was afraid of, but clearly they needed to have a talk.

"Triplets are fun. Wait and see," she said as she stepped aside for one of the men to join.

"Who the hell invited Superman here?!" Mack asked as team three laughed.

"Oh get over it, McKinley. Jamie chose you. Move on," he said before offering Zinnia his hand. "Ignore McKinely, please. My name is Joe Spagnola. I'm a surgeon and a psychic healer. My skills are at your disposal, Miss Zahara. In fact everyone I brought from my team is a doctor. I promise you that you are in the best hands any expectant mother could be in."

"I think we need to rethink Superman's visitation," Gideon said as he suddenly got uncomfortable with him being so close to Zinnia.

"Yeah fuck you too," Joe said as flipped them all off, gaining a round of laughter from the room.

"I'm Draden Freeman, ma'am and this is Ezekiel Fortunes. We will keep you safe. Have no worries," he said as he shook her hand.

Zinnia nodded to him as he took his place over with his team. She was overwhelmed by everyone but she was grateful. They wanted to help her and her children at a great risk to themselves. "Thank you, everyone. You don't know me and have no reason to put yourselves at such risk for me but I appreciate it," she said as she rubbed her forehead slightly.

"Ma'am, you're a ghostwalker like us. You are carrying our family members. That makes you family and in case you didn't get the memo, we protect family, no matter what. So please, the only thing we ask is that you relax and focus on taking care of those three little ones. We've got the rest," Kadan said from his spot in the room.

Zinnia nodded softly before forcing herself off the sofa. Gideon was right by her side, helping her up but she just smiled at him. "I think I'll take Mr. Montague's advice and go and take a nap. Thank you again, to all of you," she said as she made her way towards the stairs.

When she got to the top of the stairs, she heard Gideon yell at her. "I TOLD YOU WE HAD IT! DAMMIT WOMAN!" he shouted as he realized she had built all the furniture. She had finished all the projects while they had the introductions.

"I told you I was faster!" she shouted back then moved as fast as she could, towards his room, laughing.

Gideon rolled his eyes as he looked at the massive amount of new furniture that had all been put together and the trash vanished from sight. No wonder she had a headache. Kane chuckled as he walked over to the cribs. "I don't think any of us are ever going to get used to that power of hers. I didn't even register her using it," he said as he ran his hand along the side.

"This was a massive disaster when we got here, what the hell happened?" Draden asked as he looked around the room. "And how did none of us see this?"

"She's that powerful," Lily said as she admired the work she did. "It's no wonder he wants her. If this is what he can do in her, I can only imagine what her children will be able to do. This must have used a massive amount of energy but none of us felt it or saw anything. So if he got her, he could use her to change the world to what he wants."

"He'd move Hell and Earth just to get her," Ryland said as he looked at his brothers-in-arms. "It's a good thing that we are all here. If he knows she's here, he will do everything in his power to get her. Are you sure she isn't safe enough to travel? She may be better off really disappearing."

"Her doctor thinks she won't make it the end of the week before the babies are born. She's been having a lot of back pain since the first attempt. She says that it's false labor and not to worry but honestly it's scaring the hell out of me," Gideon said.

"If she's having Braxton Hicks then she is close to delivering. Her body is already practicing to deliver. She can't go anywhere. Ryland and I are flying home tonight but I want to set up the surgery and the supplies before we go. You guys need to be ready," Lily said as she and the others with medical training made their way to the surgery to unpack and prep.

Gideon and several others took the opportunity to bring all the furniture up to his apartment. To his surprise, Zinnia was already in bed and fast asleep. They worked quickly to set everyone up in the room, doing their best to not wake her. When they finished up they headed back downstairs to say their goodbyes to Lily and Ryland. Jamie, Rose, and Pepper were in the kitchen making dinner for everyone while the men got together to formulate shifts for protecting the building. Until further notice, everyone was staying there.

Their peace didn't last though, as the girls were dishing out dinner, the alarms sounded and there were loud thumps coming from Gideon's room. Gideon grabbed his gun and quickly ran to his room followed by Jack and Brian but when they got there, Zinnia was gone. The access to the roof was wide open. Gideon quickly ran up to the roof where he found several men loading an unconscious Zinnia onto a helicopter.

Gideon fired his gun at the pilot and like any good sniper he didn't miss. _They have Zinnia! Trying to take off the fucking roof!_ He thought to his family as he, Jack and Brian engaged with several soldiers on the roof. One soldier took a swipe at Gideon but ended up getting his jaw shot off by Kane from the adjacent roof top. More of their men joined them on the roof as the more soldiers deployed from multiple helicopters that surround the building.

 _Why aren't they firing their guns?_ Logan asked as he took out another soldier.

 _My guess would be they don't want to accidentally hit the package._ Javier said as he tried to get closer to the helicopter.

 _Gideon, have you tried reaching Zinnia?_ Gator asked as he dug his knife into the throat of the soldier in front of him.

 _Zin? Baby? Wake up! You're in danger. I need you to wake up!_ He thought to her but he was met with nothing. _Whatever they gave her has her completely knocked out. I can't get any response from her._

The men pushed harder to get to the helicopter but they had successfully loaded Zinnia on and were taking off into the night sky. Gideon fought hard as he ran to get to her. "ZINNIA! WAKE UP!" he shouted at her over the noise of the chopper but she didn't respond. Gideon reached the edge of the building just as the helicopter pulled away towards the ocean, the other helicopters following close behind it. Gideon felt like his heart was being ripped out as he watched his family get further and further away.

Gideon felt his arm being pulled force him to turn around. Brian had grabbed him and was pulling him back inside. They were going after her. Gideon moved fast as he followed the men out of the building towards the beach. They had a boat ready and their own helicopter inbound. Gideon ran as hard as he ever had as they jumped on the boat and took off, following the helicopters.

Zinnia was vaguely aware of her surroundings. Her head was blaring and her body felt weak. She tried to register what had happened. She remembered getting into Gideon's bed and falling asleep and then woke up to the alarms going off and seeing men in front of her. The memory of the soldiers helped to clear her mind as she opened her eyes. Her hands were zip tied and she was in a helicopter, heading out to sea. Zinnia kept herself still as she tried to figure out what to do.

"Those fuckers are persistent! They're right on our asses and it looks like they got their own bird in the sky," one of them said as he hung out the door.

 _Gideon!_ She called out to him but got nothing back but she knew that if they were being followed then she had to escape.

"Fucking Whitney didn't tell us they'd have so many enhanced fuckers there! One of those assholes actually fucking clipped me!" one soldier near her growled.

"What are you bitching about Jameson?! You got your prize! Whitney promised he would give her to you once he takes that brat out of her. You're a lucky bastard. Enjoy it!" another soldier said on the other side of her.

"Yeah, lucky he was able to pair me to her and he promised to pair her to me once we get her to the Island. Then I'll make her forget that piece of shit and have her begging for me morning, day and night!" he laughed with his buddies.

Zinnia had to fight the bile that was bubbling in her throat as her head got clear enough for her to dissolve the zip ties. Once she was sure she was free, she set her mind to the engine of the helicopter. From her spot, she could see the ocean below. If Gideon was following her, she only had this one chance to escape. Zinnia had to focus even though her brain was killing her. Her mind crawled at first as she tried to focus on bringing the helicopter down. After a few minutes she was able to do the only thing she could and destroyed the tail rotor. For a moment, all she heard was the alarms blaring and the panic in the men's voices. Then the helicopter lost control and began spinning at a high rate.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Jameson shouted at the pilot as he held on.

"Tail rotor is gone! Like gone gone! We're going to crash!" Pilot said as he tried to get the chopper under control.

The water was getting closer as they were going down. The body of the helicopter was shaking violently as it descended. Zinnia took this chance to get out of her seat and make her way to the door.

"FUCK! SHE'S AWAKE! STOP HER! GRAB HER!" one of the other soldiers shouted as they tried to reach for her but Zinnia was quicker than that and jumped from the helicopter mere moments before it collided with the ocean water.

Gideon and his team were gaining on them. Their own helicopter had been successful at taking out a few of the others, leaving them a clear shot for the one that held Zinnia. Gideon was struggling with his control as he kept his eyes locked on the bird that held his family. He was going to gut every man that touched her. But before they could reach them, the tail rotor was smoking before bursting into flames and then disappearing all together. The helicopter went into an extremely violent tail spin before crashing hard into the ocean, the main rotor blades chopping at the water as they still spun.

"ZINNIA!" he shouted as Mack sped slowed the boat. "What the hell are you doing, top? We have to get her!"

"Those blades are still going! I can't get closer without those things chopping us up too!" he said but Gideon didn't listen, instead he went to the side of the boat, prepared to jump in.

Before Gideon could even get a toe in the water, Jack and Jesse held him back. They were SEALs and this was their playground. The two men jumped in and swam towards the wreckage. Gideon looked everywhere for Zinnia but no bodies surfaced. It was at that point both SEALs dove under the water. Mack pulled the boat closer to where they went under. Minutes passed and Gideon never took his eyes from the water, until he heard a splash from the other side of the boat.

Running over he saw the two SEALs and Zinnia. They got them on board before taking off back towards land. Zinnia was unconscious but breathing. Joe had joined them on the boat and pushed Gideon out of the way so he could check on her. She had dove out of a spinning helicopter at high speed and collided with the water. She had a massive cut on her forehead that was bleeding heavily but from what he could tell she was alive, as for the babies, he couldn't tell.

Zinnia woke up just before they made land. Her head was screaming at her but she was with Gideon. He held her in his arms. His body wrapped around hers. He was whispering to his children, begging them to be strong and to be ok. That they were safe. That their mother was safe. Zinnia smiled softly at him as she lifted her hand to his face. Gideon nearly jumped off the boat as he looked at her.

"Thank fucking God," he said as he pulled her into a tight hug. "What the fuck were you thinking bringing down that helicopter while you were in it?! You could have been fucking killed!"

Gideon was yelling at her. Reprimanding her, but she didn't care. She could see how scared he was. "I will do whatever I can to never go back to Whitney," she said calmly as he helped her up and off the boat.

"By nearly fucking killing yourself?! There had to be a better way!" Gideon shouted at her as he turned her to look at him. Apparently they were not waiting to get home to have this fight.

"YES! You think I don't know what he would do to me if he got his hands on me?! On my babies?! I have read his sick and twisted notes on me! I know exactly what he thinks of my abilities and how they are exactly the type of weapon that he needs! He called me a weapon, Gideon! Not a person! A FUCKING WEAPON! A TOOL TO BE USED! SO YES! IF IT COST ME MY FUCKING LIFE THEN SO BE IT BUT LIKE I TOLD YOU, I WILL NEVER GO BACK TO HIM!" she shouted at him. He wasn't her husband. He wasn't her boyfriend. He didn't have a right to dictate her.

"And what of OUR kids?! Did you fucking think about them?!" he shouted back at her.

Zinnia glared darkly as she pushed at his chest. "Of course I fucking did! They are all I have thought about for eight months! You've known about them for three days!" she said as tears streamed down her face. "So don't you dare! I will not let Whitney 'cut them out of me' as they said he would."

Gideon watched her, she was terrified. She was shaking and crying. The rest of the men were watching the exchange, not sure how to help. Gideon took several deep breaths as he tried to calm himself down. He wasn't helping. When he finally felt calm, he walked over to her and pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. "I'm sorry, Zin. I was scared. I don't do scared well. I thought I lost all of you," he said as he held her close to his body. For a moment she fought against his arms. Her rage was still going strong but finally she gave in and cried in his arms. She gripped his body tightly as she shook and all he did was hold onto her.

Jesse walked over to them and taped Gideon on the shoulder. "Sorry to interrupt but it's best we get out of sight. I'm sure Whitney knows that he's lost her again and standing out in the open isn't the best idea," he said as he rested a hand on Zinnia's back. "Besides, that cut is nasty and Joe said something about doing an ultrasound to check the babies."

Zinnia pulled away and nodded. She wiped at her eyes and took a few breaths before walking towards the men. She was unsteady on her feet. Her body waivered back and forth. Gideon came up behind her and scooped her up, carrying her back to his home. For now, that's all he could do.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

The Little Girl

Zinnia hadn't been the same since the second attempt. When they had returned to the warehouse, they had stitched up her cut and checked on the babies. All were doing well. Everyone was relieved by this news and for Gideon, it was what he needed to hear. His family was fine. His family was alive. The day after the attack, Gideon found Zinnia sitting at a table in his room. Her eyes were distant as her finger traced lines on the grained wood. She was extremely distant from everyone. She blocked everyone from her mind. For a moment, she was that little girl being tortured and experimented on in Whitney's facility.

Gideon had spent most of the day in the room with her, trying to provoke an answer from her as he organized the babies' furniture but she didn't look at him and she didn't answer him. Finally, he took a seat next to her. "Zinnia? Baby?" he called softly to her. He got nothing back. "Zinnia, look at me."

She didn't look at him. She didn't move minus her hand tracing the wood. _Zinnia. Look at me. Talk to me. Don't shut us out._ He thought to her, trying to break through. Still he received nothing. Gideon didn't know what to do, further proving just how much of strangers they were to each other.

A knock came at the door as Saber walked in and came over to him. "She's still not talking?" she asked as she placed a hand on his shoulder to give him a reassuring squeeze.

"I can't even get her to look at me," he said.

Saber looked at her sister. She knew what this was. Had seen it before. "This is her defence," she said as she looked at her sister. Saber got down to her level so she could look Zinnia in the eyes.

 _You're being a child._ She said bluntly to her sister. For the first time that day, Zinnia glared at her sister. _That's a scary look, should I be afraid?_

 _Most are._ Zinnia said to her sister.

 _Well I'm not and I'm calling you out on your crap. You can't shut everyone out. They won't let you. Gideon isn't letting you._ Saber said as she stood up and looked between the two. _You two need to talk and I mean seriously talk. About everything. About the facility. Your powers. Those babies. Everything. Time is running out for you and those babies. You came to them for help, don't back down now. Time for you to be brave, sister. Time to open up and depend on others. If I can do it, you sure as hell can too._ Saber said as she stood up and smiled triumphantly at her sister.

Zinnia looked up at her sister and deepened her glare. "You're such an annoying brat," she finally said.

"Funny. My husband says the same. Now do as I said," she said before walking out the door.

Gideon sent a silent thank you to Saber before looking at Zinnia. He waited for her to say something. Anything but she just looked at her hands in her lap. Deciding to be the one to start things off, he got off the chair and crouched down in front of her. "Zinnia. I'm sorry about yelling at you the other day. I was scared and I don't do scared, like ever," he said as he took her hands in his.

"Don't apologize. You had every right to call me out on my recklessness. I'm so used to being alone and relying on just myself that I make really stupid rash decisions," she said as she stood up from the chair. She wobbled a bit on her feet as her hand instantly went to her back.

Gideon held her close to help steady her. "You ok?" he asked softly.

"My back is killing me," she said softly as she rubbed her back.

"Pregnancy or the helicopter?" he asked.

"Oh definitely pregnancy. My body is not liking carrying these guys," she said as she did her best to smile up at him.

"Well then we will make sure to not have multiples the next time around," Gideon said as he smiled back at her.

"Next time?!" she gasped. "Oh hell no! One and done! Or in this case three and done but no more babies for me," she said as she moved over towards the bed to find a more comfortable spot.

"We'll talk about that at a later date," he said as he sat next to her.

"If ever," she grumbled as she rubbed her bump. "Saber thinks that we need to talk. That I need to tell you about my past so that you can better understand."

"It would help," he said as he placed his hand on her bump.

Zinnia sat for a moment as she thought about what to say. She enjoyed sitting there, his hand on her bump, next to hers but she knew that she knew what she had to do. "Come with me," she said as she got up and moved out of the room.

"Where are we going?" he asked as he followed her.

Zinnia was silent as she walked down until she got to the server room where her computer was. Many of the family was in there already and went over security footage to try and improve the building but stopped when they saw her. All of them gave her a warm smile as she started her computer. "You need to see something," she said before addressing the rest of the room. "I guess if I am going to call you all family, then you should see this as well."

With that everyone gathered around her very large screen. Her desktop was covered in folders, all heavily encrypted. She opened one that had more folders in it. By the tenth layer of folders, she found the video file she was looking for. It was entitled _Release_.

Without hesitation, she started the video. It opened with a little girl sitting in a playroom by herself. She wore a white medical gown and shorts. Her long dark hair was pulled back in a braid. Her eyes focused on the windows above here. There stood Peter Whitney and two other people. The video focused on the girl for a moment before Zinnia turned up the volume and she looked away from the screen.

"We are taking her, Whitney! You have no right to her!" the man said.

"Connor, please. I know it's still hard for the both of you but your daughter died a long ago. Zinnia isn't your daughter. I brought her over from the Ukraine," he said as he tried to calm them down.

"Don't bullshit us!" the woman said, nearly in tears. "You stole my baby! You tortured her! You experimented on her and you experimented on us!"

"Dear Breanna, I did no such thing. I don't know how you two got it in your heads that she is your long lost daughter but I assure you, she isn't. Your poor child didn't survive the birth and I am truly sorry about that," Whitney said. Connor pulled out a paper and slammed it down on the desk in front of them. "Where did you get this?"

"The last time I took blood from her...I took a little extra and it showed that she is ours. That's our fucking daughter down there and we are taking her back," Connor said as he glared darkly at Whitney.

For a moment, Whitney was still, his face emotionless then in a blink of an eye he crumpled the paper and threw it back at them. "You're not taking her anywhere. Further testing is needed," he said coldly.

Zinnia grabbed Gideon's hands as she closed her eyes and he knew what was going to happen. He held her hand tightly as he watched the scene unfold. Little Zinnia watched the scene unfold. Her parents yelled at Whitney and Whitney pulled out a gun. He first shot her father in the head and then her mother as she ran to get to Zinnia. Both gunshots made Zinnia jump, tears clinging to her eyes. A guard ran into the room that Whitney stood in. "Sir, we heard shots, is everything alright?" he asked as he looked at the bodies.

"Yes. This facility is no longer secure. Prepare to move Zinnia to the max facility away from the other girls. Scrub this building. I want it evacuated and destroyed within the hour," he said as he turned and looked at Zinnia. "I have plans for you, little Zinnia."

Zinnia's eyes snapped to Whitney's eyes as her pain and sadness filled her and with that pain, she unleashed her power. The building shook violently. The lights flickered as bits of the walls and ceiling fell. Whitney glared down at her. "Zinnia, that's enough. Stop this nonsense," he ordered. But she didn't stop. Her rage and pain had taken over. In a matter of moments she lost her parents and her sisters.

The door to Zinnia's opened as guards came in with guns aimed at her. In a blinding flash, she ran past all of them, touching each of them, making their heads literally explode. The video changes to footage of Zinnia working her way through the halls. Taking out anyone she came into contact with as she checked each of the girls' rooms only to find them empty. Alarms were blaring and lights flashed as the building was falling apart. People ran in all directions to get away. At one point the camera shifted to Peter Whitney surrounded by men, making his way towards a helicopter. Before he could get within a hundred feet of the chopper, half his men when down, blood gushing from every hold. When Whitney looked around, he found Zinnia in front of the helicopter.

She had tears streaming down her face but her rage came through louder. The remaining men engaged her but she slipped a scalpel that she held in her out and with perfect precision, she went from man to man, cutting him open from ear to ear. With Whitney alone, she turned her sights to him. Whitney didn't flinch or back down, he just stared her down. "Now Zinnia, that's enough. You are above tantrums like this," he said as if he were a father reprimanding his child because they weren't getting what they wanted. Zinnia didn't speak as she slowly approached him. He didn't back down the closer she got but continued to talk her down. "Zinnia, they were lying. They aren't your parents. Just two very sad people who lost a child. They got too attached to you and believed you belonged to them. I assure you, they aren't your parents."

"No, they aren't," she said as she stood right in front of him. "Not anymore. Not thanks to you."

In a blink of an eye, Whitney swung his arm out with a syringe in his hand but Zinnia caught his arm, twisting it so that he dropped the syringe. Whitney looked at her, surprised by her true strength, but that surprise quickly changed to pain as he screamed out in pain. Slowly, the arms she held began to for a better term, deflate. Whitney's screams grew louder as she crushed his forearm, twisting it to show there were no bones there. Zinnia moved up his arm and started at his elbow, slowly climbing his arms. Before she could finish an explosion sent her flying away from Whitney.

Another helicopter had come to collect Whitney and they had fired on her to get her away from him. Whitney held his arm to his body as he turned to look for her. "Sir! We have to leave, the building is coming down," a soldier shouted as he ran out to grab Whitney.

"I have to find her! We cannot leave her behind!" he shouted as she searched.

"She's gone sir and we will be too if we don't leave now!" the soldier shouted as he dragged the doctor out of the hanger and to the helicopter. As the helicopter lifted off, Zinnia came out of the rubble and walked out, her eyes locked with Whitney's before he was flown away.

With Whitney gone, she ran back into the facility, to her parents. She wept as she broke down their bodies and collected them in a jar together. From there, she collected their ashes in a jar and ran to her room and collected a stuffed bear. She then quickly made her way out of the facility before it came crashing down, becoming nothing but dust on the wind.

With that, the video ends and everyone turns to Zinnia. She hadn't watched any of the video. She didn't need to. She had lived that hell. Nobody spoke and nobody moved at least for Saber. She left her husband and walked over to Zinnia, pulling her into a tight hug. After she pulled away she smiled at her and nodded before moving towards her husband. Gideon looked towards Zinnia but Zinnia turned back towards her computer and pulled photos and videos of her as a child. Videos of surgeries performed on her, training she did. Her torture. Her education. Pictures of her with her sisters and her parents. Post mortem pictures of her victims.

"This is what Whitney turned me into. What I have been running away from. I was completely alone after that day. I did what I had to, to survive. I learned that the only person I can trust and rely on was myself. It has sort of made making friends extremely difficult for me," she said as she turned off her computer and faced them. "I didn't get a chance to thank you all for rescuing me and for letting me stay here. I realize I have put a lot of...complications in front of you, but I really do appreciate it, even if I suck at showing it."

Everyone was silent for a moment until Kaden looked towards her. "Ma'am, if life were simple, it wouldn't be worth living. We all have something that that bastard wants, and lets face it, you come with a shit ton of fucking fire power, but you came to us. To your sister and to the father of your child asking for help because you knew that Whitney was coming. Well let that fucker come. Every one of us wants a piece of him to send back to hell and if that means we get you and a few nieces or nephews then that is a very welcomed bonus. Honestly, I'd rather have you on our side in battle," Kadan said as he smiled at her.

"Can you just call me Zinnia please? Drop the ma'am," she said as she did her best to smile back at him.

"Just trying to be a perfect gentleman," he said as he winked at her.

"Don't be winking at my woman or I'll call Tansy and rat your ass out," Gideon joked as he held Zinnia. _Thank you for showing that to me and everyone else. I know that took a lot for you to open yourself up like that._

"Hold up. When did I agree to be your woman?" Zinnia asked as she arched an eyebrow. _Thank you for not running away. Most of Whitney's men were scared of me. Some days I am scared of me and what I can actually do._

"Well we are having three kids and I am a slightly possessive bastard and don't really like sharing. So I guess that means you are stuck with me forever. But hey! It can't be that bad. You could be stuck with Superman over there," Gideon said as he took her hand tightly in his. _I am not afraid of you. I am in awe of your strength and your bravery. I meant what I said, I want you to be mine. Kids should have both parents and I would love to spend the rest of my days with all of you._

"I seriously hate that nickname! You guys make it out like I'm so irresistible that I'm gonna steal all your women," Joe said as he glared at them.

"Like you haven't been, you flirt!" Mack said as everyone laughed.

Zinnia shook her head as she chuckled softly. As everyone around her chuckled softly, she kept rubbing her back. She felt like someone was grabbing her spine and squeezing as hard as they could. She had a high pain tolerance but these were getting worse. At one point she had to take a couple deep breaths just to get through the pain and this didn't escape a certain person's eye.

Rose walked over to Zinnia crouched down in front of her. "How long have you been feeling the back pain?" she asked.

"Early this morning, They're slowly getting more sucky. Normally pain doesn't bother me but these are pushing it," she said as she rubbed her back. Rose looked at her over a few times, watching carefully as Zinnia had to do a couple more deep breaths. Rose smiled as she looked at Gideon. Gideon gave her a confused look as she smiled at him. "What is it Rose?" he asked.

"I recognize this," she said with a chuckle as she went to help Zinnia stand up. "Kane, you want to play catch again?"

Kane gave her a confused look before fully understanding her meaning. "Holy shit! She's in….she's having the babies!" he said as Rose rolled his eyes.

"Labor. Like I said before, it's not a dirty word!" she said Gideon came to her side.

"Are you sure?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around Zinnia's back.

Rose placed her hands on Zinnia's bump and felt the muscles tighten as Zinnia took several slow breaths. "Oh yeah, that was a contraction and they are getting closer together and stronger," she said as she went back to have Zinnia. "Someone better call her doctor. Looks like these babies are ready to meet their family. Just in time cause it looks like their mama has finally come to accept her new family."

Zinnia rolled her eyes as another contraction hit her hard. For a moment she only focused on the pain until it passed and she realized her legs were wet. "I guess Rose was right," she said as Gideon lifted her and ran her to their medical room. She could feel the waves of panic rolling off him as he kept his cool. Zinnia chuckled softly. "Are you ready to be a dad?" she asked as he led her into their makeshift delivery room.

Gideon laid her on the bed and smiled. "Can't wait!" he said as he waited for the others to catch up.


End file.
